Image: from Portuguese Cycling Magazine X @PCMPTMag
Volta a Portugal 2026, Stage 9 Report | Paredes → Mondim de Basto / Senhora da Graça
By Open Chronicle Cycling
Alexis Guérin delivered another demonstration of strength on the most symbolic mountain of the Volta a Portugal, winning Stage 9 at Senhora da Graça and taking a major step towards overall victory in the 87th edition of the Portuguese race.
The French leader of Anicolor Campicarn completed the demanding stage from Paredes to Mondim de Basto in 3 hours, 44 minutes and 55 seconds, beating José Neves of GI Group Holding Simoldes UDO by three seconds.
Guérin’s teammate and defending Volta champion Artem Nych crossed the line nine seconds behind the winner.
The result gives Guérin a 1 minute and 2 second advantage over Nych in the general classification with only Sunday’s final stage from Maia to Porto remaining.
Yet this was a day when sporting achievement could not be separated from tragedy.
🖤 Una victoria dedicada a Finlay Tarling
🇫🇷 Alexis Guerin se hace con la novena etapa de la Volta a Portugal y mete más distancia en lo más alto de la general#LaCasaDelCiclismo | #VP26 pic.twitter.com/b4ikPSQLoj
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) August 15, 2026
A Volta in mourning
Stage 9 began one day after the death of 19 year old British rider Finlay Tarling following the serious accident during Stage 8.
The atmosphere surrounding the race was consequently very different from that normally associated with the celebrated Senhora da Graça stage.
The peloton observed a minute of silence before the start. Black ribbons and other gestures of remembrance accompanied the riders, while the NSN Development Team withdrew from the remainder of the race.
Guérin himself raced in black rather than the traditional yellow associated with the leader of the Volta.
When the road eventually began to decide the sporting contest, the race leader produced a performance worthy of the jersey he would normally have been wearing.
The road to Monte Farinha
The penultimate stage took the peloton from Paredes to Mondim de Basto, with Senhora da Graça once again providing one of the defining battlegrounds of the Volta.
The 2026 route gave the famous mountain an additional dimension.
For the first time, the race incorporated the approach through Carvalhais, approximately nine kilometres at an average gradient of around seven per cent, followed by a gravel sector connecting the route towards the upper part of Senhora da Graça.
It meant the riders faced the Monte Farinha challenge before returning for the decisive final ascent.
The combination of climbing, technical terrain and accumulated fatigue created precisely the kind of stage capable of reshaping the general classification.
An aggressive race before the final climb
The stage developed through a succession of attacks as riders outside the immediate battle for yellow attempted to anticipate the favourites.
Óscar Rota was among the riders who animated the race, while the pressure increased as the peloton approached the decisive mountain terrain.
Behind the attackers, Anicolor Campicarn continued to control the situation around Guérin and Nych.
The team had entered the stage holding the two strongest positions in the overall battle and once again used its numerical strength to keep the race within reach.
Then came Senhora da Graça.
As the gradients began to expose the differences between the contenders, the general classification group was progressively reduced.
Guérin, Nych and José Neves emerged at the centre of the fight.
Pericas suffers at the worst possible moment
One of the biggest incidents of the stage involved Adrià Pericas.
The young UAE Team Emirates XRG rider had started the day third overall after his impressive victory at Termas do Gerês on Stage 7.
His challenge was compromised by a puncture around the gravel section.
Pericas fought to limit his losses, but on a stage this demanding there was little opportunity to recover.
He eventually finished 12th and slipped from third to fifth overall, although he retained leadership of the Young Rider Classification.
His misfortune opened the door for Pedro Silva and José Neves to move ahead of him in the general classification.
Guérin, Nych and Neves decide the stage
At the front, the race increasingly became a confrontation between the Anicolor pair and José Neves.
Neves produced one of the strongest Portuguese performances of this year’s Volta and remained with the yellow jersey contenders deep into the final ascent.
The Portuguese rider appeared capable of challenging for the stage victory.
But Guérin still had another acceleration available.
In the closing part of the climb, the Frenchman moved ahead and reached the summit first.
His winning time was 3:44:55.
Neves followed just three seconds later, with Nych completing the podium at nine seconds.
For Guérin, it was a second stage victory of the 2026 Volta after his triumph at Torre on Stage 4.
More importantly, it transformed a useful overall advantage into a potentially decisive one.
Stage 9 result
- Alexis Guérin, Anicolor Campicarn, 3:44:55
- José Neves, GI Group Holding Simoldes UDO, +0:03
- Artem Nych, Anicolor Campicarn, +0:09
The result underlined the extraordinary strength of Anicolor Campicarn in the mountains.
Guérin won the stage, while Nych protected second place overall.
Guérin extends his lead
The general classification now has an unmistakable Anicolor imprint.
Guérin leads the Volta with a total time of 27:14:30.
Nych remains second, but his deficit has increased to 1:02.
Pedro Silva of Feira dos Sofás Boavista moves into third at 4:30, with José Neves climbing to fourth at 4:36 following his excellent ride on Senhora da Graça.
Pericas is fifth at 5:38, while Tiago Antunes of Efapel Cycling occupies sixth place at 5:53.
General Classification after Stage 9
- Alexis Guérin, Anicolor Campicarn, 27:14:30
- Artem Nych, Anicolor Campicarn, +1:02
- Pedro Silva, Feira dos Sofás Boavista, +4:30
- José Neves, GI Group Holding Simoldes UDO, +4:36
- Adrià Pericas, UAE Team Emirates XRG, +5:38
- Tiago Antunes, Efapel Cycling, +5:53
With only one stage remaining, Guérin is now in a commanding position.
Anicolor controls the race
The Stage 9 result also reinforced what has become one of the central stories of the 2026 Volta.
Anicolor Campicarn has controlled the decisive mountain stages with remarkable authority.
Guérin has won at both Torre and Senhora da Graça, two of the race’s great climbing landmarks.
Nych, winner of the previous two editions of the Volta, remains second overall.
The team therefore enters the final day occupying the first two positions in the general classification.
It also leads the team classification.
The jerseys before Porto
Guérin’s dominance extends beyond the Yellow Jersey.
The Frenchman also leads the Mountains Classification with 72 points.
Rui Oliveira remains the leader of the Points Classification with 80 points, keeping UAE Team Emirates XRG in control of the Orange Jersey.
Despite his difficult afternoon, Pericas retains the White Jersey as the race’s leading young rider.
The principal classification leaders after Stage 9 are therefore:
Yellow Jersey, General Classification: Alexis Guérin
Orange Jersey, Points Classification: Rui Oliveira, 80 points
Blue Jersey, Mountains Classification: Alexis Guérin, 72 points
White Jersey, Young Rider Classification: Adrià Pericas
Team Classification: Anicolor Campicarn
One road left
The 87th Volta a Portugal concludes on Sunday.
Stage 10 takes the peloton from Maia to Porto, bringing the race towards its traditional final celebration.
For Guérin, the equation is now relatively simple.
He has 1:02 over his own teammate and more than four minutes over every rider outside Anicolor Campicarn.
Barring an extraordinary final day, the Frenchman is within touching distance of becoming the winner of the 2026 Volta a Portugal.
The final stage should also provide one last opportunity for the faster riders, with Rui Oliveira among those who will have an interest in protecting the Points Classification and potentially contesting the final victory in Porto.
But whatever happens on Sunday, this Volta will finish under circumstances nobody could have imagined when the race left Lisbon on 5 August.
Stage 9 produced a great sporting performance on one of Portuguese cycling’s most famous mountains.
It also remained a day of remembrance.
Guérin crossed the summit first, strengthened his Yellow Jersey and moved closer to the greatest victory of his career.
But on Senhora da Graça, victory was accompanied by mourning.
The road to Porto will carry both.