Remco Evenepoel wins Volta ao Algarve as Sergio Higuita conquers Alto do Malhão

The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team rode a strong stage, controlling the attempts to overturn Remco Evenepoel's lead and sealing the overall win alongside the three stages the British team has gotten. Sergio Higuita won the final stage in the sharp hilltop finish at the Alto do Malhão for BORA - hansgrohe.

The final stage up to the Alto do Malhão is always a place where gaps are created, and as tradition goes a large breakaway group attacked early in the race of this day. 20 riders ended up in the head of the race after arund 60 kilometers of racing which included the likes of Tom Pidcock and Yves Lampaert, but with no riders who were of a threat to Quick-Step's lead.

The race was controlled by the Belgian team with the gap never reaching worrying levels for the peloton. On the first time up the Alto do Malhão Daniel Martínez went on the attack several times but with a ready response from the race leader, who ended up cancelling the attacks and consolidating the GC group with around 15 riders after the regrouping. As the group kept plowing and eventually caught the last escapees, a chasing group containing second place in the overall Ethan Hayter got back.

The Briton ended up suffering and loosing his place in the podium as the race was attacked once more up the final hilltop finish. Evenepoel controlled the whole way with only the stage win up for grabs, Brandon McNulty was the first to launch a move in the final few hundred meters, closely followed by Daniel Martínez who then launched his own move, only to be overtaken by Sergio Higuita in the final meters on a thrilling sprint.

McNulty finished third and Evenepoel fifth, sealing for the second time in his career a win in the Volta ao Algarve aswell as the youth classification, with McNulty and Martínez closing the podium. Fabio Jakobsen won the points classification whilst João Matias took the KOM classification after a consistent race.