"He was smarter than me in the final": Juan Ayuso applauds Algarve stage 2 winner Paul Seixas

The second stage of the 2026 Volta ao Algarve delivered the expected show on its final climb to Fóia with Paul Seixas victorious ahead of Juan Ayuso and Joao Almeida. Heading into tomorrow's time trial, the trio sport a healthy advantage over their GC rivals with only Oscar Onley and Matthew Riccitello within half a minute after the first two days of racing.

"It was certainly exciting, because it was a close call," Ayuso told Cycling Pro Net after the stage. "I would have liked to win to thank my teammates for the work they did, but unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be."

Ayuso was the first to try, but ultimately couldn't break away from Seixas. "I knew beforehand that he would be one of the rivals, and he proved it again. He was smarter than me in the final stages: I knew I had to take the penultimate corner first, but he still outmaneuvered me."

"When I launched the sprint, I was already several bike lengths behind," Ayuso glumly stated. "But hey, he deserved it. On Friday, I have another chance in the time trial, and ultimately, it's all about the overall victory on the final day."

"It was a tough climb. There was a lot of stop-and-go, a bit irregular," the Portuguese rider recalled the decisive ascent.

The day wasn't flawless from UAE Team Emirates - XRG perspective as back-up leader Brandon McNulty had to recover from a heavy crash and couldn't go all out in the final kilometers: "It was also a shame that Brandon McNulty crashed, because I think he would have been with me anyway, and then we could have played the game more," he continued. "I did try, but I fell a bit short. Ultimately, I'm happy with the result and I'm looking forward to the time trial."