Joao Almeida gave win number 25 for UAE. The Portuguese rider dominates on the final climb of a hilly stage and crossed the finish line solo in Markina-Xemein. It was a double for Almeida, as he took over the leader's jersey, now leads by 30 seconds over Maximilian Schachmann, with Florian Lipowitz in third at 38 seconds.
"I imagined that there was going to be a very big fight for the breakaway. At the end, to get onto the last climb, I knew the fight was going to be crazy. I decided to start a little further back and climb at my own pace, and off I went.
At the end I was fine, but I wasn't even super. I think everyone was a bit tired from yesterday and it seems to have been enough."
-Joao Almeida
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