MADRID, 11th April, 2025 (WAM) -- Stage 4 of Itzulia Basque Country was an excellent affair for the UAE Team Emirates-XRG, who not only claimed the stage victory and lead of the race through Joao Almeida, but also placed second on the day with Isaac del Toro and grabbed the King of the Mountains jersey through Marc Soler.
Conquering the seventh and final categorised climb of a brutal stage, Almeida powered away from his rivals and rode alone to the finish in Markina-Xemein.
With his teammate Soler up the road in the day's breakaway, Almeida could bide his time in the peloton and wait for the perfect moment to attack, having begun the day only four seconds down on race leader Max Schachmann (Soudal Quick-Step). Once Soler had taken enough KOM points to ride into that jersey out front, the peloton approached the breakaway and at the foot of the final climb, it was all to play for.
Cresting the climb with a 30-second advantage, the Portuguese was able to descend to the finish line alone and seal UAE Team Emirates-XRG's 25th victory of the campaign.
