DISCUSSION | UAE 7/ Algarve 5/ Andalucia 5 - Almeida destroys the peloton, Ayuso already wins for Lidl-Trek, and Pidcock woke up too late for the GC in Andalucia

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.

At the UAE Tour we had another day raced at high speed. Remco Evenepoel attacked twice at the start of the stage, but he had no chance of getting away.

With pleasant temperatures and almost no wind, a breakaway formed at the front of the race, made up of five riders. The peloton kept the break under control at all times, catching them inside the final five kilometres.

The run-in to the finish line was fast, with Jonathan Milan launching his sprint at exactly the right moment to take another victory, his third in the Middle East.

Isaac del Toro adds yesterday’s stage win and the overall classification of the 2026 UAE Tour to his list of achievements.

In Spain we had the closing stage of the race, where we finally got to see some fireworks. With a breakaway forming relatively early, made up of three riders, the peloton was travelling at such a high pace that the fugitives never really stood much of a chance.

The breakaway’s adventure ended with 25 kilometres to go, and shortly afterwards Christophe Laporte of Team Visma | Lease a Bike was forced to abandon the race following a crash. We then saw numerous attacks, including moves from Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates - XRG), Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility), Victor Campenaerts (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X Mobility).

Heading into the final 10 kilometres, Victor Campenaerts remained at the front of the race with a very slim advantage, chased by Cofidis riders setting the pace at the head of the peloton.

When the final climb of the day began, Alto de la Primera Cruz (2.8 km at 5.9%), the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team moved to the front to impose a high tempo. Shortly after, FDJ took over with three riders to prepare an attack from Romain Grégoire, but then an explosive move came from another rider.

It was Tom Pidcock, launching like a bullet. The British rider pushed hard, dropping those who thought they could follow his wheel, and after reaching the top of the climb, he did what he does best.

Jan Christen launched a fierce chase of the Q36.5 rider, but the gap, although not very large, was enough to secure Pidcock his first victory of the year.

Behind, Ivan Romeo and Movistar rode a defensive and intelligent race, securing the overall classification victory.

In the Algarve, strong emotions were expected, as today’s stage featured a summit finish which, although not very long, was explosive enough to cause damage in the peloton and shake up the fight for the general classification.

Today, unlike the previous stages, there were no riders from the Portuguese Continental teams in the breakaway. The day was marked by a move featuring Maximilian Schachmann (Soudal), Jan Tratnik (Red Bull), Tobias Bayer (Alpecin), Luca Van Boven (Lotto) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor).

Things remained calm until the peloton approached the two final climbs, which the riders would tackle twice, Soidos (2.1 km at 7%) and Alto do Malhão (2.6 km at 9%).

On the first passage of Malhão, João Almeida decided to lift the pace and completely blow the race apart. The Portuguese rider from UAE Team Emirates - XRG attacked twice, dropping many rivals who later managed to rejoin, and in doing so the race took on a completely new shape.

Vauquelin and Lipowitz attacked from the group of favourites and gained a small advantage. Schachmann, who was riding with Alaphilippe at the front of the race, crashed, leaving the Frenchman alone. The chase was fierce and the race was wide open. Anything could happen.

On the second ascent to Soidos, the pace remained high and once at the top, UAE took control of the race to bring back the breakaway that was still holding a small advantage of a few seconds.

The race then headed onto the climb to Malhão with UAE at the front setting the tempo, reducing the peloton to just over 20 riders. When João Almeida moved to the front, he began to suffocate the riders who remained in the group, eventually creating a selection of six men who stayed together until the final kilometre.

In the final hundreds of metres to the finish line, Oscar Onley of INEOS Grenadiers was the first to launch the sprint, with Juan Ayuso on his wheel, followed by Seixas and João Almeida. With the line in sight, the Spanish Lidl-Trek rider accelerated and passed Onley to seal victory in the stage and in the overall classification.

Yesterday I told the guys that Lidl-Trek could win two stages today, in the Algarve and in the UAE. And that’s exactly what happened. Both Jonathan Milan and Juan Ayuso took victories on the day.

In the United Arab Emirates, it was another typical stage with a breakaway that was only caught near the finish. Once inside the final kilometre, Jonathan Milan simply had to wait for the right moment to launch his sprint and claim his third stage win in seven.

In Andalusia, we saw fireworks, with Tom Pidcock showing he is in great form and possibly the strongest rider in the race. But that’s cycling, the strongest rider doesn’t always win, the one who is most consistent throughout the race does.

That’s what happened with Ivan Romeo, who gave Movistar a Spanish team victory in the overall classification, something that hadn’t happened since… 2017.

In the Algarve, we had to wait until the first ascent of Malhão for the race to explode. João Almeida showed he is in good form, but he wasn’t the strongest. Juan Ayuso, now with Lidl-Trek, seized the moment to win both the stage and the overall classification.

Positive notes as well for Oscar Onley and Paul Seixas, who look set for a strong season after the legs they showed in southern Portugal.

In the UAE Milan took the expected win, all the flat stages looked exactly the same in the race so you couldn't really expect anything different. When the weather doesn't help, the race organizers are just going to be stuck with the same formula and same outcome everytime. But we knew of that already.

In Andalucia we've seen Visma lose Christophe Laporte to injury, adding to those of Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert; and also Sepp Kuss who was out of action in Oman. After Olav Kooij, Tiesj Benoot and Cian Uijtdebroeks left Visma they immediately were injured or ill as well; so it is quite astounding just how much these riders are coming down with mishaps.

The gap continues to increase towards UAE and Alpecin, who continue to have their leaders healthy.Tom Pidcock took the win; like in Murcia he was clearly the strongest; but he (at least it was admitted and aknowledged) made a mistake on stage 2 where he, UAE and Groupama just let Iván Romeo and Andreas Leknessund go up the road, knowing they wouldn't be able to take that time back.

The organizers did get what they wanted though with this route, a GC win based on tactical racing, not climbing power. Pidcock looks very sharp for Strade Bianche, which is good news as Pogacar will at least have one competitor as it seems.

In the Algarve we've had the traditional all-out day for the classics riders in the breakaway, and due to João Almeida also a pretty extensive GC battle, as his attack on the first ascent of the Malhão opened things up for others to attack later on.

But Lidl-Trek raced perfectly and Juan Ayuso had a spotless week, he actually was the strongest as not only he's sprinted to bonus seconds on multiple times, but he was also able to sprint to the win today on the final climb despite not being an explosive rider.

The win doesn't come as a surprise, we know perfectly Ayuso is a proven winner and this race is pretty ideal for him; but it is nevertheless the perfect start to his time in the team, and he could for sure win a few more times this spring.

UAE Tour: The absolute breakthrough of Isaac del Toro, winning his first WorldTour race with a high-level display of emotional control and tactical awareness. He is progressing step by step, and I think it suits him very well that in his next Grand Tour he will have no pressure and will focus on helping Tadej Pogacar try to win the Tour de France.

We will see at the end of the year whether he shares leadership with Joao Almeida at the Vuelta, but for now the next step should be one-week WorldTour races against top-level rivals. Remco Evenepoel has already fallen to the Mexican — will more follow?

Andalucía: A brilliant success for Iván Romeo, who confirms himself as one of the best time trialists in the world and as a rider capable of fighting for stage wins in Grand Tours without any doubt. Winning in Andalucía should not lead anyone to put unnecessary pressure on him.

As of today, he is a great rider, but far from being a Grand Tour contender. In Spain there is a tendency to push every cyclist toward targeting general classifications, and I believe that right now we should simply enjoy the Movistar rider for what he currently is: a young time trial specialist with a beautiful present and a future that will determine where he ultimately belongs.

Algarve: I believe Juan Ayuso has truly landed on his feet at Lidl-Trek. He desperately needed to leave UAE and now he looks happy. That does not mean he is going to arrive at the Tour de France and beat Tadej Pogacar, not at all, but he is in a place where he clearly knows he is the undisputed leader in stage races.

That will allow him to race with much more calmness, as he has shown over these past few days at the Volta ao Algarve.