Ganna powers to Algarve TT victory

Filippo Ganna kicked off his 2026 campaign in style with victory in the stage three time trial at the Volta ao Algarve.

The Italian champion laid down a winning marker of 21 minutes and 53 seconds in the early going, and his benchmark would hold firm until the finish in Vilamoura.

Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) caused a nervous finale after going one second quicker through the intermediate time check, but over the line the new race leader would have to settle for second, five seconds back on Ganna.

There were more strong rides as the Grenadiers placed two more GC contenders in the top six times, with Thymen Arensman (fifth) and Kevin Vauquelin (sixth) putting in solid efforts.

Those exploits saw both men climb the overall leaderboard, with Vauquelin now fourth (+57) and Arensman fifth (+1:01). Oscar Onley joins them in seventh on the GC (+1:17).

The race continues into the weekend, with a likely sprint stage on Saturday, followed by a hilly GC finale on Sunday.

On his victory, Filippo Ganna said: "[The course] was a little bit technical. But we are at the start of the season, the shape is not the best, but I tried to defend myself. I followed the plan from the team and I followed the numbers. In the end we keep this amazing victory. I want to say thank you to the team and everyone who supports me. It was a little bit of a hard winter, where I started a bit more conservatively the preparation for this season. But the legs start to spin well and it can be a good motivation for the next races.

"In the final I felt faster. The first part was a little bit technical and I tried to not take too many risks. It's an important race today but one of my biggest goals is in less than a month. We cross the fingers now and we'll see in the next days - maybe we can look at a breakaway."