News | Belgium Tour | Team | Tour de Suisse • June 18, 2025
João Almeida triumphs in Tour de Suisse with stunning solo attack
Portuguese climber goes on solo breakaway to seal victory and bounce back from previous time losses, as Sebastián Molano starts Belgium Tour in fine fettle
João Almeida delivered an exceptional solo performance on Wednesday afternoon, securing victory in stage 4 of the Tour de Suisse. The 49-kilometre solo effort into Piuro, Italy, marked an emphatic win for the Portuguese talent who bounces back from having lost time earlier in the race.
The stage unfolded with a strategic move by Almeida, who, after being led out by his team on the Splügenpass climb, launched an attack some 1.8km from the summit. His relentless pace distanced rivals Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNL) and Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), allowing him to cross the finish line alone, 40 seconds ahead of the nearest competitor.
This victory propels Almeida from 18th to 7th place in the general classification, now 2’07” behind race leader Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ).
Almeida: “I gave a lot – it was a hard effort with a lot of team work and it was nice to finish it off. There is still a long way to go and a lot of time to claw back but I’m happy with the stage win and I’m going to enjoy this one. We’ll try again tomorrow, it’s a hard stage, but overall I’m very happy with the shape and especially with the Tour de France not far away.”
The win marks the 46th victory of the season for the Emirati squad.
Tour de Suisse 2025 stage 4 results
1. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 4:10:19
2. Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNL) +40”
3. Ben O’Connor (Jayco-AlUla) +42”
General classification after Tour de Suisse stage 4
1. Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) 15:37:20
2. Kévin Vanquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) +25”
3. Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) +29”
7. João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2’07”
Meanwhile, on the opening day of the Baloise Belgium Tour, Sebastián Molano sprinted to second place behind the stage 1 winner Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step). The Colombian sprinter produced a fine turn of pace in the final sprint, beating out competition from Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) to take second.
The result marks a strong start to the five-day stage race for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, who also claimed one bonus second through Florian Vermeersch in the Golden KM. The Belgian is making his first appearance since a spell at altitude, and got stuck right into the action on day one.
With the pilot work of Vermeersch and Rui Oliveira, Molano found himself in a strong position heading into the last 500m of racing. Launching his sprint a moment or two earlier, Merlier got the jump on the bunch, but Molano came with his own fast finish to the line.
Gathering themselves beyond the finish, the whole Emirati squad took stock of the day’s display and thanked one another for their efforts. With such a positive outing on stage 1, plenty more opportunities await between here and Sunday’s finale in Brussels.
Baloise Belgium Tour 2025 stage 1 results
1. Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) 4:23:43
2. Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t
3. Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) s.t
General classification after Baloise Belgium Tour stage 1
1. Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) 4:23:33
2. Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +4″
3. Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) +6″
