Almeida takes Tour of Basque Country lead with solo stage four win

Joao Almeida soloed to an impressive Tour of the Basque Country stage four victory on Thursday, also claiming the overall lead.

The UAE Team Emirates rider capitalised on a tricky final climb to leave his competitors behind on the 169.6 kilometre run from Beasain to Markina-Xemein.

The race was decided on the Category 1 Izua mountain pass, with Almeida taking the lead and leaving his general classification contenders behind.

The Portuguese rider opened up a gap of around half a minute on the chase group and maintained it through the descent to the finish, crossing the line 28 seconds ahead of his rivals.

BOOOOM! 🔥 Joao Almeida storms to victory on stage 4 of Itzulia Basque Country and pulls on the leader’s jersey! Brilliant win! 1-2 for UAE with Del Toro finishing 2nd. #Itzulia2025https://t.co/DB2e2TZmwy pic.twitter.com/ngNEgM802s

— Eemeli (@LosBrolin) April 10, 2025

Almeida's teammate Isaac del Toro crossed the line second, ahead of Soudal Quick-Step's Max Schachmann, who won the opening day time-trial.

Schachmann grabbed a bonus for making the podium, allowing him to sit second overall, trailing Almeida by 30 seconds, with Red Bull's Florian Lipowitz a further eight seconds back in third place.

Stage five on Friday takes riders a hilly 172.4 kilometres from Urduna to Gernika-Lumo.