João Almeida (UAE) was one of the heroes of the last Tour de France. In a tournament full of highly qualified cyclists, the Portuguese, born in Caldas da Rainha, was a real Robin in supporting Pogacar to overthrow the competition, adding to that fourth place in the overall standings. The work for the team did not go unnoticed by the sports followers, who enthusiastically praise the Portuguese on a daily basis.
Despite his excellent role as a socially elite rider, the Portuguese cyclist is not being ruled out as a leader in other races on the calendar. In an interview with Marca, João Almeida spoke about the match and confirmed that he will be one of the first candidates for the Vuelta a España, which will be held in August.
“Yes, Yates and I will be the team leaders. The plan is for both of us to go. We have to recover well from the Tour, but I think I will arrive well and try to fight for the race,” he said.
The Portuguese cyclist has long been known for his ability to rise from the ashes at critical moments, however, in this edition of the Tour de France, this characteristic has been highlighted greatly by those who follow the sport. “I have always been like this and this is one of the things that characterizes me. It is basically a psychological problem. I consider myself psychologically strong and resilient and I think this is one of my characteristics,” he said.
Joao Almeida was satisfied with the work he was doing to secure the overall victory for Slovenian Tadej Pogacar: “He is one of the most important cyclists in history. To be part of this is special. I feel good when I do this work. He always remembers me and that is very good.”
The 25-year-old Portuguese still believes it is “almost impossible” to fight for the Tour de France in the future when there are riders like Tadej Pogacar in their ranks. “I can improve a lot, there are still a lot of things I can improve, but I think that reaching the level they are at now cannot be achieved overnight. Maybe in one year I will do the Giro and the Vuelta and go to the Tour,” he said. “But we still have Vingegaard and Remco who are very strong.”
There is a lot of talk about a possible top three, but without hysteria, João Almeida confirms that getting on the podium in general will not be easy, and will not be an objective. “The objective is to win the Tour with Pogacar and defend these days until Nice. If everything goes well and I can get higher, ideal, but I am a bit far. My feelings are not the best to fight for a podium,” he said.
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