Swiss national time trial champion Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ) plied his trade with aplomb on stage 3 of the Volta ao Algarve, powering to victory for his new French team in the 30.3km test around Lagoa. However the unexpected story of the day was another brilliant ride by race leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), who showed maturity beyond his years to defending the race lead, taking fifth on the stage. Starting the day with the more experienced Wout Poels (Team Sky) just one second behind in the GC and Enric Mas (Deceuninck-Quickstep) five seconds down, Pogacar ended the day with a lead of 31 seconds over Mas. Søren Kragh Andersen (Team Sunweb) rocketing up the standings with an impressive second place on the stage, overtaking Poels in third at 36 seconds, with two hilly stages to race.ADVERTISEMENT Kung made his season debut at the Volta ao Algarve, wearing the Groupama-FDJ colours for the first time and riding his first time trial in a new red skinsuit. He was perfectly suited to the rolling course but had to fight for his win. “We were able to work really well over the winter on all the really important things. It’s really nice that in the first tine trial I can deliver like that and celebrate the first victory in the new colours. I’m really happy,” Kung said, explaining his plans for the spring. “I took a different approach to last year, this is my first race of the season, so I’m really ready for the Classics. It’s going perfectly for now. I feel good and in shape. I hope to go on from here and do good in the Classics.” How it unfolded
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