The Thrilling Finish to Volta ao Algarve: Pidcock Takes Third Place

In a thrilling final stage of the Volta ao Algarve, Tom Pidcock sprinted to third place atop Alto do Malhāo. The action kicked off early, with Luke Rowe attempting to get into the break, before Filippo Ganna found himself in a move of 20 that had upwards of three minutes. With the gap stable, the GC teams sensed the danger and began upping the pace just before the first of two ascents of the Alto do Malhāo. Here, Magnus Sheffield had an untimely mechanical, and despite help from Geraint Thomas and Kim Heiduk, he would not regain contact with the bunch.

Onto the final ascent, and the pace was fierce. Tom put in several digs to try and distance his competitors, as well as closing gaps to would-be escapees. However, it was clear nothing would be allowed to stick. As the final sprint kicked off, Pidcock dug deep but was just unable to find that extra gear, eventually coming home third, with Thymen Arensman in ninth.

“The result meant the pair finished sixth and fifth on GC respectively, after a solid block of racing for the whole squad.”