Almeida battles to second on difficult Queen stage at Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana

João Almeida put in a solid performance today on the queen stage (Stage 4) of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, crossing the line in second place behind a dominant break from Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull Bora hansgrohe). Teammate Brandon McNulty also rode strongly, finishing inside the top five, as UAE Team Emirates-XRG demonstrated resilience and tactical strength on one of the toughest days of this early-season stage race.

The 172 km route from La Nucía to Teulada-Moraira featured multiple climbs and selective terrain that would define the general classification battle. On the decisive final climb of the Puig de la Llorença, world champion Evenepoel launched a relentless attack that ultimately carried him solo to victory.

Almeida stayed within striking distance throughout the steep gradients, matching accelerations and riding at the front of the chasers alongside Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) as they carried a passenger in Evenepoel’s teammate Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull Bora hansgrohe). Almeida would take second on the day as McNulty rounded out the strong team showing by securing a top-five result in the elite group.

The result tops off a successful day for the Emirati outfit who took their seventh win of the season on stage 1 of the Tour of Oman with Sebastian Molano.

Almeida: “It was a fast day with some challenging terrain. The racing was quite hard and I did my best. But Remco was just stronger so Chapeau to him. If the climb had have been a bit longer it would have been a bit better for me, but it is what it is, no regrets.

I think I did a good job and the team did well also so we will take it . We were just two pulling in the group behind since Pellizzari was covering Remco which was normal. I’m happy enough with the result.”

Stage 4 results

1.Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull Bora hansgrohe) 4:14:01

2.Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +24”

3.Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull Bora hansgrohe) s.t

5.Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +36”

General Classification after Stage 4

1.Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull Bora hansgrohe) 11:00:29

2.Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +29”

3.Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull Bora hansgrohe) +31”

5.Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +47”