Almeida was the only GC rider able to follow Evenepoel's pace on the queen stage and limit his losses to 24 seconds, the rest of the contenders trailing in behind him. It confirmed Almeida as the clear second-best stage racer in the field and set up his runner-up finish overall — a solid but not decisive early-season GC showing as UAE's leader for the week.

• Second on the queen stage, only rider to stay within 24s of Evenepoel

Almeida was the best of the rest, the only rider able to follow Evenepoel on the queen stage and limit the damage to 24 seconds there. Second overall confirmed him as UAE's clear GC leader and the strongest stage racer behind the winner across the week, a steady early-season foundation.

• Second on the Stage 4 queen stage, only rider within 24s of Evenepoel