Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard won the Tour of the Algarve in a late flourish on Sunday after dominating the final day time trial.
On a sunny day in southern Portugal with a longish 19.6km hilly route, Vingegaard won the stage five time trial in 28min 25sec thanks to his superior climbing.
The two time former Tour de France winner was making his seasonal debut in Portugal and eased into the race, seeming to struggle on the mountain stage, only taking the overall lead on Sunday with a sizzling uphill performance at the end.
Vingegaard said the result boded well for the new season after he came second at the 2024 Tour de France despite an injury blighted season.
"Success depends heavily on having good legs, and I think I can say I had them today," said the 28-year-old.
"This was also a bit of redemption for stage two, where I felt strong but didn’t get the result. It's definitely a confidence boost for the rest of the season," said the 2022 and 2023 Tour de France champion.
His Visma teammate Wout van Aert was second Sunday and will prove a key ally in their tilt to take back supremacy from Tadej Pogacar, who won th UAE Tour earlier Sunday.
Team UAE leader in the Algarve Joao Almeida of Portugal came second in the overall at 15sec and Laurens De Plus of Ineos was third at 24sec.