Guérin wins Senhora da Graça stage and closes on Volta a Portugal title

Stage victory on the Senhora da Graça

Alexis Guérin (Anicolor-Campicarn) won the ninth and penultimate stage of the 87th Volta a Portugal on Saturday, 15 August, arriving alone at the summit of the Senhora da Graça in Mondim de Basto. The 34-year-old Frenchman covered the route from Paredes in 3 hours, 44 minutes and 55 seconds, at an average speed of 37.961 km/h. Sources give the distance as 142.3 km or 142.6 km. José Fernandes (GI Group Holding-Simoldes-UDO) finished second at 3 seconds, with Guérin's teammate and two-time defending champion Artem Nych third at 9 seconds. Guérin, who also won the fourth stage and the Alto da Torre summit finish, attacked 200 metres from the line after Fernandes had led the trio for most of the final kilometre. Thousands of spectators lined the mountain of Mondim de Basto.

A puncture that reshaped the podium

The stage's decisive moment away from the final climb came on an unprecedented dirt section at the Alto de Carvalhais, where riders crossed a sterrato surface en route to the Monte Farinha summit, followed by a high-speed descent. Adrià Pericas (UAE Emirates), third overall at the start of the day, suffered a puncture on the dirt section and lost contact with the favourites' group. The Spanish rider, who had won the seventh stage in Gerês, was forced to chase through the second half of the stage and lost 3 minutes and 30 seconds in total, dropping from third to fifth in the general classification. He retains the youth classification lead.

The final climb

The peloton was reduced to 12 riders in the final 10 kilometres, with the group of favourites including Guérin, Nych, Tiago Antunes (Efapel), Pedro Silva (Feira dos Sofás-Boavista), José Fernandes, and Emanuel Duarte (Credibom). Nych raised the pace with 6 km remaining, with Guérin following. The Anicolor duo then accelerated again, and only José Fernandes could follow. Feira dos Sofás-Boavista had set the early pace through Oscar Rota, who pulled until 6.9 km from the summit to position Pedro Silva for the podium. With 4 km to go, Guérin and Nych pressed forward, leaving Fernandes to chase. Fernandes led until the final 200 metres, when Guérin launched his attack. Fernandes finished 3 seconds behind and sits fourth overall, 6 seconds adrift of Pedro Silva, who holds the third podium position.

General classification with one stage remaining

Guérin leads the general classification with an overall time of 27 hours, 14 minutes and 30 seconds, holding a 1 minute 2 second advantage over Nych. Pedro Silva is third at 4 minutes 30 seconds, with José Fernandes fourth at 4 minutes 36 seconds and Pericas fifth at 5 minutes 38 seconds. The battle for the final podium place remains open, with only 6 seconds separating Silva from Fernandes.

Mourning and the road to Porto

The stage began with a minute of silence in Paredes for Finlay Tarling, the young British cyclist who died during the eighth stage. The NSN Development Team, Tarling's squad, no longer has riders in the race. The 87th edition concludes on Sunday with the 10th and final stage, a 136.9 km route from Maia to Porto. In the points classification, Rui Oliveira (UAE Emirates) leads with 80 points, ahead of Guérin (68) and Nych (66). Guérin also leads the mountains classification with 72 points. GI Group Holding-Simoldes-UDO tops the team standings with a time of 82 hours, 12 minutes and 41 seconds, ahead of Anicolor-Campicarn at 3 minutes 55 seconds and Efapel at 45 minutes 48 seconds.