Volta a Portugal: Race leader Alexis Guérin climbs to second stage win on stage 9

Race leader Alexis Guérin (Anicolor-Campicarn) launched from a select trio in the final 500 metres on the famous Senhora da Graça climb to win stage 9 and claim his second stage victory at the Volta a Portugal.

The win cemented Anicolor’s dominance of the race, with Artem Nych crossing the line in third place. José Neves (GI Group Holding-Simoldes-UDO) took second place, having escaped from a select lead group with the pair 4km from the top of the final climb.

The pair have held the top two spots since stage 4’s summit finish at Torre, and now hold an increased lead after former third-place holder Adrià Pericas (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) lost 3:31 after an unfortunate puncture on the penultimate climb.

Pedro Silva (Feira dos Sofás-Boavista) was the main beneficiary, racing off into the distance with the rest of the GC men and gaining 2:33 to move up to third overall. He held on in the face of an onslaught from Neves on the final climb, but managed to keep hold of his spot by just six seconds at the top.

“We’ll see in Porto. I don’t know how much of a lead I have in the general classification. Porto is a technical course, and I’ll have to wait until the finish line before I can be happy, in quotes, about winning this Volta,” said Guérin.

The Frenchman, wearing a black leader’s jersey to honour Finlay Tarling, the day after the 19-year-old tragically died on stage 8, added, “Today, this victory gives me time overall, but it is also for this young man who was talented.”

Ahead of the final stage in Porto, Guérin leads by 1:02 to take Anicolor’s fourth Volta triumph in five years. Double winner Nych is second, while Silva lies 4:30 down.

Racing concludes on Sunday with the final lumpy 136.9km stage between Maia and Porto.

Stage 9 connected the Monastery of Vilela, in Paredes, to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace, in Mondim de Basto. The Queen Stage with 3,223 metres of elevation gain over 142.3km featured the legendary climb to Senhora da Graça (8.4km at 7.4%). However, before the summit finish, riders also had to tackle the first category Alto de Carvalhais (9.6km at 6.6%) with a long gravel section towards the summit and at the plateau.

The race held a moment of silence to honour NSN Cycling Team’s Finlay Starling after his tragic death during stage 8 before the racing got underway.

A break of four riders, who escaped after the first intermediate sprint in Paredes, was joined by a large chase group to form, momentarily, a break of 18 riders off the front. They built a lead of over two minutes but broke apart on the demanding terrain.

Oscar Rota (Feira dos Sofás-Boavista) pulled away from the break on the early slopes of the Alto de Carvalhais with its pitches maxing out at 10.3%. Meanwhile, chaser Lorenzo Quartucci (Burgos-Burpellet-BH) was caught by a select group of GC favourites

Third on GC, Adrià Pericas (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) suffered a puncture on the gravel sector, losing a minute before he got a new bike from his team car.

On the descent, with 33km to go, Rota was reeled in by a group of 11 riders. The selection included Guérin, Nych, Neves and his teammate Rui Carvalho.

Rota’s teammate Pedro Silva, Tiago Antunes and Keegan Swirbul (Efapel), Diogo Barbosa, Guilherme Mestre (Tavira-Crédito Agrícola), Jesus Del Pino (Aviludo-Louletano-Loulé), and Emanuel Duarte (Credibom-L.A. Alumínios-Marcos Car) were also along for the ride.

Come the start of the final climb, Pericas lay 2:40 down as Rota, pacing the lead group of 12, worked for teammate Pedro Silva.

With 20 kilometres to go, Pericas, joined by more riders, continued to lose time, up to two minutes behind the lead group. Not long afterwards, it was Anicolor time as Nych and Guérin pushed the pace. The pair took José Neves with them with 4km to go as Silva, Antunes, and Duarte dropped away.

Neves, hoping to gain the 58 seconds he needed to pass Silva for that virtual third, pulled the Anicolor duo to the line, where Guérin had the pace left in his legs to jump past, sealing his second stage win and overall victory.

Results

Stage 9 results

Pos

Rider

Time

Alexis Guerin (Fra) Anicolor/Campicarn