Danish specialist takes his fifth victory of the season, all in time trials, as UAE Team Emirates-XRG claim their second stage win of the week

News | Team –10th August 2026

Julius Johansen won stage 5 of the Volta a Portugal on Monday afternoon. It is the Dane's second victory of the race, following on from his success in the prologue.

Remarkably, the two victories move Johansen to five professional wins, all of which have been taken in 2026. Indeed, all five have been in individual time trials.

The latest win, though, comes in the longest distance to date. Stage 5 of the Volta a Portugal was contested across a 17.4km-long course, with Johansen crossing the line 30 seconds faster than the second-fastest rider on the day.

To make the day all the sweeter for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, the Danish rouleur was joined in the stage top 10 by his teammates Luca Giaimi and Adrià Pericas. Giaimi's efforts were enough to secure fifth place, whilst Pericas took 10th in the stage and vaulted up the general classification to fifth overall.

Leaping up four places in the GC, Pericas continues to wear the white jersey as the best young rider in the race.

As for Johansen, Monday is another exemplar of his growing strength against the clock. Becoming somewhat of a specialist in these efforts, Johansen has found the best form of his career with the Emirati squad.

With two stage wins and a spell in the leader's yellow jersey under his belt, the focus for the remainder of the Volta a Portugal will turn to helping his teammates, as made clear in his post-race interview.

Johansen: "It is amazing. I am really, really happy to finish this off. This was, of course, one of my goals for this Volta a Portugal. I really wanted to win one stage, and then I won the prologue, but of course I also wanted to win today to show I can do it on a slightly longer time trial. I am really happy to pull it off.

"I was a little scared because I only saw the course for the first time today, so you never know really what to expect. Also, on the descents, how many risks are you going to take? I am really happy it paid off with a victory today.

"I think now we have to look after the GC, try to attack more and go for stage wins. I think we still have a lot of chances. We came here with a good team, so we want to show ourselves. I have my victories now, so I hope Rui [Oliveira] can have one for sure in the next days, and I think more people will have their chances and we will see how it goes."

Volta a Portugal 2026 stage 5 results:

1. Julius Johansen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 21:13

2. Tiago Antunes (Efapel Cycling) +30″

3. Axel van der Tuuk (Euskaltel-Euskadi) +35″

5. Luca Giaimi (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +43″

10. Adrià Pericas (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +1:00

Volta a Portugal 2026 general classification after stage 5:

1. Alexis Guerin (Anicolor/Campicarn) 16:39:31

2. Artem Nych (Anicolor/Campicarn) +1:12

3. Tiago Antunes (Efapel Cycling) +1:52

5. Adrià Pericas (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +2:26