Almeida and Ayuso finish strong on first uphill test at the Vuelta a España

On the first summit finish of this year’s Vuelta a España, both João Almeida and Juan Ayuso showed promising signs for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with the pair taking fifth and eighth across the line, respectively.

The explosive test in Italy was never going to suit either rider perfectly, with both favouring the longer climbs that will come to define the Vuelta, but Almeida and Ayuso remained towards the front of the action as stage 2 drew to its conclusion. With the result, Ayuso moves into the white jersey as the best young rider.

Heading into the final stage to be held entirely in Italy, the Spanish climber now sits ninth overall, just 12 seconds back on the stage winner and new race leader, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).

Stage 2 was marked by an onslaught of rain in the second half of the day, which resulted in a big crash on a roundabout with a little over 25km to go. Fortunately for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, all eight riders came through unscathed and as far as the race was concerned, all of those affected managed to finish the stage.

Keeping his teammates safe and well-positioned for much of the afternoon was Mikkel Bjerg, with the big Dane an almost ever-present on the left-hand side of the peloton. The former U23 world time trial champion diligently stuck to the task and exchanged the workload with Ivo Oliveira as the race rumbled towards a close at Limone Piemonte.

Once onto the final climb, Felix Großschartner guided both Almeida and Ayuso forward, before Marc Soler launched an audacious acceleration some 500m from the line. The Spaniard forced Sepp Kuss of Visma-Lease a Bike to close the gap, and heading into the last few hundred metres, the day’s victory was going to be decided in an uphill sprint of the peloton’s notable climbers.

Once more showcasing the explosive turn of pace that he demonstrated at the Tour de France, Vingegaard overhauled the efforts of Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) to take the stage win, with the 28-year-old also riding his way into the leader’s red jersey.

Both Almeida and Ayuso, meanwhile, gave their all to the line and confirmed their place amongst the best. Speaking after the finish, both riders were pleased with their efforts.

Almeida: “It was a bit of a chaotic day, the rain came in the final, there was a crash, people were nervous but we managed to stay safe and be in a good position. In the end, me and Juan, we went full gas, also Marc, I think we did quite good, the others were just stronger. The first uphill finish is always a weird feeling, so let’s keep pushing.

“The final tomorrow is a bit tricky. We need to be cautious and be careful.”

Ayuso: “I think it’s a tricky day because it’s a super fast climb so it’s hard to see where everybody is at, but I think it was the first small test and I think I passed it. I hope each day I can keep on improving towards Andorra, which is going to be the first real test of the Vuelta.

“I think that our stages for me and João are still to come, and we haven’t really started yet, so there is a lot to play for. I think it’s too early to take any conclusions but it’s good to get the race feeling back and try to keep training for the coming days.”

Vuelta a España stage 2 results

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) 3:47:14

2. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) s.t

3. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) s.t

5. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2″

8. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t

Vuelta a España general classification after stage 2

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) 7:56:16

2. Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) +4″

3. David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) +6″

9. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +12″

12. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t

The Renewi Tour drew to a conclusion on Sunday afternoon, with Tim Wellens animating the racing once more and finishing strongly to take third overall. The Belgian national champion was unable to land a race-winning blow on the fifth and final stage, but it was not for the want of trying.

After being well set in the bunch for most of stage 5, it looked as though things were about to unravel for the 34-year-old when, with 35km to go, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider was forced into a bike change. The timing was inopportune, to say the least, with Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) grasping the opportunity to go on the attack and look to overhaul the race lead of Arnaud De Lie (Lotto).

Wellens was momentarily cut adrift, but refused to panic. Rather, the Belgian national champion calmly mounted his new bike and was helped back to the peloton by Igor Arrieta. With the Van der Poel group now up the road, it would be up to both Arrieta and António Morgado to drag Wellens back into contention.

Once back amongst his rivals for the final podium in Leuven, Wellens wasted no time in asking Rui Oliveira and Morgado to set a searing tempo at the front of the race. Their work paid dividends when Wellens snatched a bonus second in the Green KM to strengthen his grip on third place overall.

The Green KM provoked the strongest riders in the race to nip off the front of the peloton, and for a while it looked likely that an elite group of Wellens, Van der Poel, Toms Skujiņš, Thibau Nys (both Lidl-Trek), Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) and Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana Team) might contest the victory.

But despite their best efforts, the attack was extinguished by the peloton with 13km to ride.

Although Wellens attempted one final attack with 3.8km to go, the Belgian could not break clear of the peloton. It would have taken something very special for an attack to land a decisive blow at this stage of the day.

Ultimately, stage 5 was contested in a thrilling sprint won by De Lie, who defended his jersey from the second-placed Van der Poel. Finishing safely inside the peloton, Wellens held on to his third place overall to claim his first GC podium finish since he won last year’s edition.

The 34-year-old will now turn his mind to the Canadian one-day Classics in September.

Wellens: “We believed today it was possible to take back the time. We tried to make a gap when I went away with Van der Poel and we had a decent gap, but the peloton brought us back. I tried again in the final but the parcours was not quite hard enough to make a difference.

“Overall, I’m really happy with the week in Renewi Tour and I’m satisfied with third. I’ll focus now on the Canadian races and a strong finish to the season.”

Renewi Tour stage 5 results

1. Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) 3:59:38

2. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) s.t

3. Dries De Bondt (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) s.t

Renewi Tour general classification (final) after stage 5

1. Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) 19:24:42

2. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +3″

3. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +31″

With three races on the go, Sunday was non-stop for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with the Emirati squad battling for podium places on three fronts. Over in Germany, Jhonatan Narváez ended a fine week of racing, which sees him leave the Lidl Deutschland Tour with a stage victory in his pocket and second place overall.

The Ecuadorian national champion did not contest the bunch sprint that brought the race to a close on stage 4, but did finish safely to hold onto his podium spot. It is Narváez’s second GC podium of the season, and demonstrates his own strong form ahead of his next goals.

For much of Sunday afternoon, it was Narváez’s teammate who rode in the spotlight, with Brandon McNulty spending 100km in a lone breakaway off the front of the race. Seeing no better opportunity to stretch his legs after a crash earlier in the week, the American attacked the peloton just 3km into the day, and would spend a little over two hours on his own at the head of the race.

The recent Tour de Pologne winner held an advantage of three minutes for a long time, before the threat of crosswinds in the peloton forced the bunch to pick up the pace. With 100km of exertion in his legs, McNulty was caught by the peloton, and those within the bunch began to turn their heads to the expected bunch sprint.

For UAE Team Emirates-XRG, young Gen Z talent Davide Stella was earmarked to contest for a top 10, but the Italian was brought down in a crash as the sprint unfolded. The 19-year-old was able to ride to the finish to end an impressive week of racing for the WorldTour outfit, but that put an end to the Emirati squad’s ambitions for the stage win.

Instead, Narváez rolled over the line to defend his position in the general classification and take the second step on the final podium. He and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates would also return to the podium to pick up their awards for winning the team classification.

Lidl Deutschland Tour stage 4 results

1. Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike) 3:29:21

2. Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) s.t

3. Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) s.t

Lidl Deutschland Tour general classification (final) after stage 4

1. Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) 16:29:58

2. Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +16″

3. Riley Sheehan (Israel-Premier Tech) +19″