Ethan Hayter knows the Alto da Foix inside and out, having won the Volta Ao Algarve, which was postponed last May due to a pandemic. While the race's return to its traditional February slot has provided a slightly thicker pool of talent, Hayter's condition was not at all certain after COVID-19 interrupted the final stages of his preparation for the new season.

However, as the climb continued and the lead group became more sparse, Hayter's confidence grew. By the time they reached the summit, it was dusk, and Hayter was looking forward to regaining the speed that had led him to victory in the golden sun last year. As the finish line approached, the Ineos Grenadiers' focus switched from protecting Daniel Martinez to teeing up Hayter.

Ultimately, Hayter was unable to keep up with David Gaudoux's (Groupama-FDJ) furious acceleration, but still had enough power to come out of the darkness and take third place on the stage, one second ahead of the Frenchman.

"I don't think I was supposed to be there yet initially, but I ended up following behind and the pace wasn't that high," Hayter told Cycling News in Almodovar on Friday. "With about a kilometer and a half to go I decided it was going to be a sprint. I felt good at the time, but when it came down to it, I didn't have the legs.

In any case, the performance was encouraging for Hayter, who had been out of preseason training for about a week due to illness, and while the interruption put a natural cap on his climbing aspirations at the Tour de la Provence, his first race of 2022, he was consistently at the front in Portugal has been consistently in the top half of the field. Hayter, who finished 14th in a group sprint in Faro on Friday, is tied with Martinez, Remco Evenpole (Quick-Step Alphavinil), and Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) for third place overall, one second behind Gordou.

Evenepoel is favored to lay the foundation for an overall win in Saturday's 32.2km time trial from Vila Real de Santo Antonio to Tavira, but Hayter's pedigree against the clock places him as the favorite to challenge the Belgian in the yellow jersey battle this weekend "We don't know if he's in the best shape. I don't know if he's in the best shape or not, and I'm probably not in the best shape either.

Indeed, Hayter finished second behind teammate Filippo Ganna in the prologue time trial at the season-ending Etoile de Besseges.

"It's totally different. Coming back from a lack of training, he may struggle in the longer time trials. I'm hoping to have a good time trial, I finished eighth in the World Championships last year. Dani [Martinez], Tom [Pidcock], and Dylan [van Baar] are there, so we'll see where GC goes.

Whether riding for himself or his teammates, Hayter should stand out again in Sunday's finale, the Alto de Marjan. 2021 will see the London-born Hayter win the group sprint, time trial, and mountain finishes, the omnium on the track world title and a silver medal in Madison at the Olympics.

Like his teammate and contemporary Pidcock, Hayter is a versatile talent who defies conventional categorization. It is no wonder that Hayter will be assigned a wide variety of races in the coming weeks. Last season, injuries hampered his preparation and limited his opportunities to run in the Classics. He also plans to make his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia.

"I don't know yet if I will be in the opening weekend. But there are some pretty exciting races coming up, Paris-Nice, San Remo, Flanders, and the Ardennes," Hayter said. I don't know exactly what Hayter's role will be in these races, but I'll be there to help out. But whether I'm going to help out or race for myself, I'm looking forward to it."