João Almeida comes short of both GC lead and stage victory: "I was strong today and we're motivated for the next stages"
Cycling
Despite an all-out action on the slopes of Font de Partegat, Mathias Vacek remains in the overall lead of Volta a Comunitat Valenciana. The last climbs of the second stage saw UAE Team Emirates - XRG on the attack and eager to make differences. However in the end, they were beaten to it by Bahrain-Victorious duo Santiago Buitrago and Pello Bilbao. UAE's leader João Almeida finished third, 13 seconds further down the road.
This puts him within just two seconds of the Czech rider who can look forward to even greater offense from the Portuguese tomorrow. However Almeida will need to look over his own shoulder too, because Buitrago is only 3 seconds behind with Bilbao and Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) within his sight too.
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"It's disappointing not to win the stage, but the guys were impressive today," Almeida had nice words about his teammates' work after the finish. "We knew we had to set a good pace to make things difficult for the leader and in the end both Filippo Baroncini and Felix Großschartner rode very well." the Portuguese rider told the team's official website.
"In the end, the plan was always to use our numbers and with Pavel and Brandon, we managed to do it well. Once I got into my rhythm, I was able to ride strongly and that gives us optimism for the next stages," he concluded.
Provisional GC of Volta a Comunitat Valenciana after Stage 2:
| Position | Rider | Team | Time |
| 01 | Vacek Mathias | Lidl-Trek | 04:48:10 |
| 02 | Almeida Joao | UAE Team Emirates | + 02 |
| 03 | Buitrago Santiago | Bahrain Victorious | + 05 |
| 04 | Bilbao Pello | Bahrain Victorious | + 16 |
| 05 | Arensman Thymen | INEOS Grenadiers | + 19 |
| 06 | McNulty Brandon | UAE Team Emirates | + 27 |
| 07 | Rodriguez Carlos | INEOS Grenadiers | + 28 |
| 08 | Cepeda Jefferson | Movistar Team | + 30 |
| 09 | Romeo Ivan | Movistar Team | + 48 |
| 10 | Martinez Lenny | Bahrain Victorious | + 54 |
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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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- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-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
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