Having exchanged victories with his teammate Adam Yates throughout the latter half of the race, João Almeida took his second stage win of the Tour de Suisse on the final stage time trial as Yates sealed the overall victory for UAE Team Emirates in yet another one-two finish for the team.
It had looked like Yates was on course for the stage win, as he had been ahead of Almeida at both intermediate splits. However, a brilliant effort from the Portuguese rider in the final kilometres saw him overturn his deficit, as Yates continued to carefully pace his effort all the way to the line, finishing just eight seconds down in second place on the stage.
Almeida and Yates finished first and second on the last four stages of the race, with both of them in great form ahead of the Grand Départ at the Tour de France later this month, where they will both be riding in support of their team leader Tadej Pogačar.
Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) also produced a really strong performance to finish in third place on the stage and move himself onto the podium in the general classification ahead of Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers).
Good showings from Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) also saw them briefly go into the hot seat, eventually finishing fourth and fifth respectively on the stage, consolidating their positions in the overall standings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The course featured a fast start from the UCI headquarters in Aigle, with the riders rolling off the ramp and riding 5.2km of flat before the first intermediate split where the climb to the finish in Villars-sur-Ollon began.
Many riders opted to switch from the time trial bike to the road bike at the bottom of the climb, as the steep gradients meant that weight saving would be more important than aerodynamics.
Those who wished to contest the stage had to pace their effort on the first part of the climb, with the second intermediate split coming just over 3km from the finish, before leaving everything on the road in the closing kilometres.
Several riders set early benchmarks in the first part of the stage, but it was not until Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) went into the hot seat that the stage really began to get exciting, as he put nearly a minute into the previous best time.
The young Frenchman held the lead for some time before Tom Pidcock, Matthew Riccitello and Mattias Skjelmose all set new fastest times within a few minutes of each other.
João Almeida had been down at the second intermediate split, but in the final kilometres he really stepped on the pedals, averaging more than 24km/h on some of the steepest slopes of the climb to overturn his deficit and take the lead on the stage.
Adam Yates was the only rider left on the course after Almeida had finished and although he had been ahead of his teammate at the second intermediate split, he was not as quick as him in the closing kilometres, finishing eight seconds down on the Portuguese rider in second place on the stage.
Yates had paced his effort well and never went over his limit, which allowed him to hang on to his lead in the general classification and seal the overall victory.
RESULTS: TOUR DE SUISSE 2024, STAGE EIGHT, AIGLE › VILLARS-SUR-OLLON (15.7KM)
1. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, 33:24
2. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, +9s
3. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +21s
4. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +38s
5. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +51s
6. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +56s
7. Pelayo Sánchez (Esp) Movistar, +1:22
8. David de la Cruz (Esp) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +1:26
9. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:30
10. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:41
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE EIGHT
1. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, 20:18:49
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +22s
3. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +3:02
4. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +3:12
5. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +3:31
6. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +4:36
7. Enric Mas (Esp) Movistar, +5:01
8. Oscar Onley (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL, +5:40
9. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, +6:31
10. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, +6:35
