Adrià Pericas won stage 7 of the Volta a Portugal on Wednesday, taking the first professional victory of his career and lifting himself to third overall. The 20-year-old edged a three-rider sprint to the line at Termas do Gerês after a hard day in the mountains.
The result matters because Pericas is not just adding a stage win. He became the 17th different rider to score for UAE Team Emirates-XRG in the 2026 campaign, and the team collected its third stage victory in this race while moving to 63 wins for the season. For a rider in his debut season with the squad, that makes the finish at Termas do Gerês more than a breakthrough. It adds another name to a team already piling up victories.
The stage turned on the climb to Alto de Germil, where Alexis Guerin launched a strong attack and Artem Nych sat on his wheel. Only Pericas could follow. The three reached the summit together and stayed clear to the finish, with the final climb coming on the way to Vila do Gerês before the road dropped toward the line. Pericas finished in 3:48:32, the same time as Guerin, who kept the overall lead at 23:29:45.
That is the part that keeps the race open. Pericas won the day and moved within 1:57 of the leader, but Guerin still held the general classification after stage 7. Pericas said the stage was “crazy hard,” called his first pro win “super special,” and thanked the people who “carried me and took care of me,” a nod to the family, friends and teammates who have supported him since the start of the season.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG said Pericas came through its development squad, and the win fits a larger pattern for a team that has spread victories across a remarkably wide group of riders. With three stages left in the Volta a Portugal, the question is no longer whether Pericas belongs at this level. It is how much more he can force in the mountains before the race ends.
