DISCUSSION | UAE 5/ Algarve 3/ Andalucia 3 - Ayuso did not wear the leader's jersey that Almeida wants to win. Fretin tripped up Visma.

Another day with three different menus. The United Arab Emirates, the Algarve and Andalucia gave us one more time almost eight hours of cycling, full of nuances, some suspense and excitement right up to the final pedal strokes.

A very fast start in the Middle East, with riders attacking from the peloton to form the breakaway of the day. There were many attacks and counterattacks, the speed was very high and we had a bit of everything. From punctures and crashes to mechanical problems, before a three-man breakaway finally formed out front.

Silvan Dillier from Alpecin Premier-Tech won both intermediate sprints of the day. The peloton maintained its pace, higher than yesterday’s stage, largely because the accumulated elevation today was lower than in the previous stage.

Things remained controlled and with 40 km to go the breakaway still had about a one-minute advantage, which it held until the final ten kilometres.

Only approaching the final kilometres did things really come alive, with the wide roads allowing many sprint trains to form. The last remaining breakaway rider was caught inside the final 3 kilometres and from that moment on it was chaos.

The battle for position into the final corner was fierce and two FDJ riders crashed, before Jonathan Milan launched a powerful sprint to take the stage win for Lidl-Trek.

The stage began with some skirmishes in the peloton, which allowed four riders to go clear in the break, but Team Visma | Lease a Bike always controlled the race from the peloton.

Things remained calm, with the peloton controlling the break and its advantage never exceeding three minutes, even with 125 km still to go.

The kilometres passed and nothing significant happened. Pavel Sivakov crashed in a corner with about 60 km to go, but the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider rejoined the peloton just over ten kilometres later.

Cofidis moved to the front of the race, replacing Visma and Uno-X with around 40 km remaining. The break was caught in the final ten kilometres, with Visma setting the pace and the peloton stretched out at high speed.

Visma continued to impose a very high tempo through Victor Campanaerts, preventing any late attacks. In the preparation for the final sprint, Visma remained in full control. Jan Christen of UAE Team Emirates - XRG launched an attack inside the final kilometre, Visma stayed seated and kept doing their work… but at the decisive moment of the day, Christophe Laporte could not finish the job for his team, being beaten at the line by Milan Fretin of Cofidis and Paul Penhoet of Groupama - FDJ United.

Time trial day at the Algarve race. And what a day it was. While Filippo Ganna won the stage, the battle for the general classification was absolutely intense.

João Almeida, racing in front of his home crowd, lost some ground to his rivals, taking 42 seconds longer than the stage winner to complete his effort.

Paul Seixas and Juan Ayuso look very strong. Both the Decathlon rider and the Lidl-Trek rider flew over the 19.5 km ITT course.

Ayuso finished 2nd, 6 seconds behind the Italian from INEOS Grenadiers, while the Frenchman from Decathlon placed 4th on the day, 12 seconds slower in his individual effort.

Kevin Vauquelin (+24 seconds) and Thymen Arensman (+23 seconds) finished 5th and 6th… INEOS Grenadiers are performing extremely well against the clock.

If INEOS are strong, Lidl are not far behind. We already mentioned Ayuso, but Jakob Söderqvist set the 3rd fastest time of the day, 2 seconds slower than his Spanish teammate and 8 behind Ganna. Héctor Álvarez finished 8th at +36 seconds.

Final mentions go to Florian Lipowitz (+42 seconds), Daniel Martínez (+46 seconds), Johan Price-Pejtersen (+54 seconds) and António Morgado (+56 seconds).

Tomorrow will be another day suited to the sprinters, giving the general classification contenders a chance to breathe, recover their energy, and prepare for the decisive showdown awaiting them next Sunday.

Many hours of cycling, around eight, but packed with excitement. While at the UAE Tour the organisers once again gave us a completely flat road stage, with action only in the final kilometres, in Spain I expected fireworks and in Portugal I had to wait for the general classification riders to come into play before truly getting hooked on the race.

Remco Evenepoel wanted to start the day in the United Arab Emirates by stretching his legs. The peloton was stunned and quickly made it clear to the Belgian rider that the effort was pointless. As yesterday, we had a breakaway that was always under control, but today the dynamics were different. Lidl-Trek’s rival teams did little work at the front of the peloton to help chase the escape.

They let the American team burn through its riders so they would have a better chance in the final sprint against Jonathan Milan. The plan failed, Milan raised his arms once again, and tomorrow we will have a summit finish to spice things up.

In Andalucía, Team Visma | Lease a Bike showed their intentions early by controlling the front of the peloton and the breakaway.

Cofidis then took over the pace-setting as the race approached the final climb of the day, suggesting they might be preparing an attack with Alex Aranburu, who is in great form and an excellent descender.

However, Visma controlled proceedings on the final descent to the finish, setting a high tempo, preventing late attacks and preparing Christoffer Laporte to take the stage win.

But in the end, Cofidis had another hidden card. It wasn’t Aranburu, but Milan Fretin, who in the final metres surged past and beat Laporte and Paul Penhoët to take the victory.

In the Algarve time trial, the big favourite delivered. Filippo Ganna won convincingly. Juan Ayuso rolled down the start ramp without the yellow jersey, the symbol of leadership. The discussion about clothing and marginal gains paid off, as the Spanish rider finished 2nd on the day.

Paul Seixas, yesterday’s stage winner, flew in the time trial. If we compare Seixas’ weight with Ganna’s and look at the times at the intermediate checkpoint (+1 second) and at the finish (+12 seconds), and consider the experience gap between them, it is fair to say we are looking at pure talent and a very serious prospect.

João Almeida and the rest delivered a normal time trial, within expectations, and may now be out of contention for the general classification.

Final note for INEOS and Lidl-Trek. Both teams performed at the highest level, with three riders each finishing the time trial within very small time gaps.

In the UAE we can't really say we've had any conclusions from today. Basic flat stage, the peloton learnt from yesterday's mistake, and even though we've faced a chaotic sprint, Jonathan Milan is just incredibly strong not just in the sprint but the long efforts that come before it.

Hence, even without a leadout, he took a comfortable win - the expected scenario in the absence of the injured Tim Merlier and Olav Kooij from the race.In Andalucia we could've expected some GC action, but at the same time it is understandable that most teams either played for a sprint or to save their legs for the next few stages.

Milan Fretin did ride quite well, the finale was quite tough and I didn't see the Belgian as a sprinter who could really hang on in that terrain.In the Algarve is where we've had the main story today (as will also be the case Sunday).

João Almeida was a relative disappointment, and the loss of around 30 seconds to Juan Ayuso and Paul Seixas is virtually irrecoverable, for a rider who usually specializes in this type of effort.But let's be realistic, he finished around where it makes sense - only everyone around him also brought their A-game.

Filippo Ganna took the win, noted, and deserved. Jakob Söderqvist finished 7 seconds behind, proving once again he is the next big thing in time trialing.But despite the flat course, Juan Ayuso and also Paul Seixas flew as high as the heavyweight.

Ayuso showed 2024 Tirreno-Adriatico legs by almost beating Ganna; and Seixas lost only 7 seconds to him which is incredibly impressive for a rider who is setting his first BIG time trial result. And again, only 19 years of age... He is proving to have every ability required for a top rider, but the aero details and experience isn't something I already expected him to have perfected.

I was wrong.Tomorrow they go into the queen stage with 7 seconds separating them, and Ayuso's hunt for bonifications makes quite a lot of sense now. But Seixas can absolutely still take the GC win.

The stage isn't hard enough to be destroyed beforehand I think, but Ayuso is not the explosive kind and if bonus seconds are also available, Seixas can go ahead and close the gap with that alone.Take note of Héctor Alvaréz also finishing 8th on the day, ahead of Florian Lipowitz and João Almeida.

Having just turned 19, and part of Lidl-Trek's development team, he is a talent of the level of Paul Seixas I dare to say. Only he is not a climber, but he can climb; he has the raw power; he can sprint; he can also time trial with the very best already it seems. The German team have such an insane lead of riders coming from their development team, perhaps the best in the world.