"I hoped for the stage win for a second" - Gijs Leemreize closes off Volta ao Algarve with a gutsy breakaway ride
Cycling
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL was among the teams on the offense in the final stage of this year's Volta ao Algarve. After hectic start of the stage with seemingly everyone trying to jump in the breakaway, it was Gijs Leemreize representing the Dutch WorldTour team up front.
And the 24-year-old did so well, that he nearly found himself in the battle for stage victory on the slopes of Alto del Malhao. Leemreize showed no fear of more famous opponents in the front group, such as Wout Van Aert and Ben Healy, and only got caught by the favourites with finish in the sights, eventually crossing the line 12th on the day.
"The goal for us was to be in the break with as many possible riders as we could. That was the plan of almost every team though, so the jumping and attacking took quite long. We were in all the big groups and in the end I was in the right one with around 20 riders. At one point Van Aert and Healy jumped to our break. I was able to follow them and hoped for the stage win for a second, but on the final climb the GC group came back and I just couldn’t follow anymore," he expressed in press release.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Superb ride from @GLeemreize who fought until the line after being caught just before the flamme rouge, taking 12th place on the stage after being on the attack all day.👏🏻 #KeepChallenging #VAlgarve2024🇵🇹
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