UAE outsmarts Vingegaard and Roglic: Christen wins, Almeida takes second in Algarve’s queen stage

Jan Christen has won the second stage of the Volta ao Algarve. In the queen stage of the Portuguese race, the Swiss rider racing for UAE Team Emirates - XRG proved to be the strongest after dropping his breakaway companions. João Almeida attacked from the favorites’ group and caught up with his teammate but gifted him the victory.

After the chaotic first stage in Portugal, stage two was immediately one for the GC contenders. With no official leader in the standings, the race began around noon local time, covering 177.6 kilometers from Lagoa to Alto da Foia. The first 130 kilometers were mostly flat, with only two third-category climbs. Then, the real challenge began, with the Alto da Foia (8.5 kilometers at 5.0%) as the final climb.

Five riders set off on a long breakaway, but three proved to be the strongest: Tobias Bayer (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Brent Van Moer (Lotto), and Hugo Nunes (Credibom / LA Alumínios / Marcos Car). The peloton allowed them a five-minute lead, but as the tough finale approached, the trio's advantage steadily shrank. On the Marmelete climb (40 kilometers from the finish), the pace ramped up — partly due to the relentless work of Wout van Aert. By the Pomba climb (15 kilometers to go), the breakaway was caught.

Read more below the tweet.

Roglic tries to control the finale

This was the moment the final battle began. Romain Bardet (Picnic PostNL) launched the first attack, but Primoz Roglic was quick to respond. The Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe leader (with Jonas Vingegaard glued to his wheel) sent his teammate Jan Tratnik to the front, immediately reeling the French Bardet back in. Meanwhile, the favorites’ group began to shrink rapidly — soon, only twenty guys remained. When Tratnik was done, Roglic himself attacked with 12 kilometers to go until the finish.

Vingegaard stayed locked onto the wheel of his former teammate, preventing any significant gaps from opening on the penultimate climb. But on the descent, the race blew open. Laurens De Plus (INEOS Grenadiers) attacked, joined by Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates - XRG), Neilson Powless (EF Education - EasyPost), and Luca Vergallito (Alpecin-Deceuninck). The quartet built a solid lead while Lidl-Trek tried to maintain control. With three kilometers to go, the steepest part of the final climb awaited, promising fireworks.

Read more below the video!

Vingegaard attacks, Roglic follows

The fireworks display came when Christen launched his decisive attack. The young Swiss rider was aggressive, determined to solo to victory on Alto da Foia. The favorites hesitated, until Vingegaard made his move. The Dane surged ahead, and — predictably — Roglic was immediately on his wheel. Almeida, Bardet, and Tao Geoghegan Hart also followed. However, the gap to the leading quartet remained substantial, and no one up front cracked.

In the final kilometer, Vingegaard made one last all-out effort, but his rivals held on to his wheel. They were too late. Christen attacked again, finally breaking free. De Plus tried desperately to close the gap, but then Almeida appeared, flying towards the finish. The Portuguese rider got extremely close but ultimately gave the win to his teammate. De Plus finished third, seven seconds behind, while Vingegaard and Roglic followed roughly ten seconds later.

Results Tour of the Algarve 2025

Read also

Vingegaard proposes 2 potential co-leaders from his team as possible Tour tactics against Pogacar

Not the organization, but his own lead-out is to blame, according to De Lie: "He must have never seen a cycling race"

"Laughable," concludes Wout van Aert amid the chaos: "This just should not happen!"

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get every week the latest news about CYCLING in your inbox!

Subscribe