Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors) delivered a gutsy performance on the final stage of the Volta ao Algarve, coming within just a couple of kilometres of winning the stage to Malhao after a break of 31 riders threatened to turn the race on its head.
Stybar slipped clear in a group that contained eventual stage and overall winner Michal Kwiatkowski, with the group enjoying a near four-minute advantage over the main field at one point.
By the first ascent of the Malhao climb, Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hamsgrohe) had jumped from the leading group with 40 kilometres remaining. The Austrian's move sparked a wave of activity, with Stybar joining the lone leader with 20 kilometres to go.
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With 11 to go Stybar's superior experience and strength was evident, and the Quick-Step rider pushed clear and towards what would have been his first win of the season. Behind him, the remnants of the break kept the gap to under 45 seconds and on the initial slopes of the Malhao, the race for the stage was in the balance.
"I knew that the last climb would be really hard against Kwiatkowski, so yeah it was great to just go very aggressive in the race actually, already from the beginning," Stybar told Cyclingnews at the finish.
"The team just said, 'Okay let's race, let's have fun on the stage' and that's what we did."
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