LISBON: On stage 7 of the Volta a Portugal, Adrià Pericas picked up his first professional victory in just his debut season with UAE Team Emirates-XRG.A graduate of the team’s development squad, Pericas won a three-up sprint to the line in Portugal and moved up to third overall.At just 20 years of age, Pericas becomes the 17th different rider to claim a victory for UAE Team Emirates-XRG in the 2026 campaign.He won Stage 7 of the 2026 Volta a Portugal in 3:48:32, ahead of Anicolor/Campicarn riders Artem Nych and Alexis Guerin, who finished in the same time.In Portugal, Pericas triumphed on one of the race’s toughest stages, with the young Spaniard emerging as one of the strongest climbers on the Alto de Germil (11.9km at 5.9 percent).It was on these cruel slopes that the race leader Alexis Guerin made a strong attack flanked by his Anicolor/Campicarn teammate, Artem Nych. As the pair used the cobbled climb to distance their rivals, only Pericas could follow their wheels. At the summit, the trio were at the head of the race and would not be caught again before the finish.The final climb of the day, the Vila do Gerês (4.5km at 4 percent), would take the riders to the line at Termas do Gerês, and it was at its peak that the leading trio would contest the stage honours.
