Julius Johansen has secured the first Yellow Jersey of the 87th Volta a Portugal Jogos Santa Casa following the prologue today, which officially kicked off this year's Grand Tour.

The UAE Team Emirates XRG rider started second to last, but as they say, the best was saved for last. Johansen posted the best time in the picturesque 6.5-kilometer individual time trial in Belém.

The Emirati team arrived at the Volta as one of the main attractions and novelties of the 2026 edition, and it took just one day to confirm that status. Alongside the Danish winner, local favorite Rui Oliveira finished second, while Luca Giaimi claimed fourth place.

"It's excellent. It's the highest level in Portugal and I'm very proud of my performance. It's really special. I saw Rui's time, it was impressive, and I knew I had to give my best. And that's what I did and I'm very happy," Johansen said after the prologue.

Among the top five stage finishers, only Rafael Reis (Anicolor/Campicarn), the undisputed king of the Volta a Portugal with seven victories to his name, and his teammate and two-time defending champion Artem Nych managed to break the United Arab Emirates' dominance.

Rui Oliveira is still searching for his first professional road victory and has never hidden that achieving it at the Grand Tour would be a dream. He came very close. The Olympic champion held the provisional lead for much of the afternoon, with only Julius Johansen able to improve his time by four seconds.

STAGE RESULTS

1. Johansen Julius (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in 00:07:12
2. Oliveira Rui (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) + 04
3. Reis Rafael (Anicolor / Campicarn Cycling Team) + 07
4. Giaimi Luca (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) + 09
5. Nych Artem (Anicolor / Campicarn Cycling Team) + 14
6. van der Tuuk Axel (Euskaltel-Euskadi) + 15
7. Juaristi Txomin (Euskaltel-Euskadi) + 15
8. Salgueiro Miguel (Team Tavira / Crédito Agrícola) + 17
9. Antunes Tiago (Efapel Cycling) + 17
10. Francisco Filipe (Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé ) + 17