The young guns took center stage at the 42nd Volta ao Alentejo. Noah Hobbs, just 20 years old, donned the yellow jersey on the first day and never looked back, riding to the top step of the podium on Sunday. But it was Italian sensation Luca Giaimi who stole the show on the final day, breaking away to win the stage in Évora.
Giaimi, a 20-year-old phenom from the UAE Emirates Gen Z team, crossed the line in 3 hours, 11 minutes, and 22 seconds, a whopping 2 seconds ahead of the pack. Hobbs, who had dominated the general classification all week, couldn’t catch the Italian, but his second-place finish was enough to secure the overall win.
The final stage was a thrilling affair, with a 14-man breakaway group, including Alexis Guerin and Tiago Antunes, pushing the pace early on. But it was Giaimi, Gotzon Martín, and Guerin who made the decisive move, breaking clear of the pack with 70 kilometers to go. The three leaders worked together, but in the end, it was Giaimi who had the legs to take the win.
“I had a blast,” Giaimi said in the post-race interview. “We started the break early, but it wasn’t working because there were too many guys. We split up with 70 kilometers to go and gave it our all. I love it when the finish is uphill, and when I launched my sprint, I knew I had the space to win. I’m super stoked!”
Hobbs, meanwhile, was ecstatic about his overall victory, which marked his first win in a professional stage race. The young Brit had already won two junior events, but this was his first major triumph among the elites. His EF Education-EasyPost team was over the moon, and they celebrated with Hobbs on the podium, along with Argentine Nicolás Tivani and Colombian Jesús Peña, who rounded out the top three.
The final stage was a fast one, with the riders averaging 47.375 kilometers per hour. Hobbs may not have won the stage, but he took home the points classification and the young rider’s jersey, to go along with his general classification win. Portuguese rider Pedro Pinto was crowned “king of the mountains,” and the Rádio Popular-Paredes-Boavista team took the team classification.
The Volta ao Alentejo was a showcase for the young riders, with Giaimi, Hobbs, and others making a name for themselves on the professional stage. As the dust settles, one thing is clear: these kids are the future of cycling, and they’re ready to take on the world.
Results
The final podium looked like this:
- Noah Hobbs (EF Education-EasyPost) – 1st overall
- Nicolás Tivani (Aviludo-Louletano-Loulé) – 2nd overall
- Jesús Peña (APHotels&Resorts-Tavira-Farense) – 3rd overall
Other winners
Other notable winners included:
- Luca Giaimi (UAE Emirates Gen Z) – stage 5 winner
- Pedro Pinto (Efapel) – “king of the mountains”
- Rádio Popular-Paredes-Boavista – team classification
