João Almeida: “I feel good on the bike”

- advertising -

Caldas cyclist João Almeida returns to competition in the Vuelta a España, where he will lead UAE Team Emirates-XRG alongside Spaniard Juan Ayuso. After abandoning the Tour de France due to a fractured rib, the Caldas cyclist heads to Spain confident of a successful recovery.

"I feel good on the bike. It was two and a half weeks of 100% training before that, it was still an adaptation process, but we didn't want to rush things. I'm ready, I feel good, and we'll see how things go day by day," said João Almeida at the race's pre-race press conference, held on Thursday in Turin, Italy.

The team heads into the Vuelta with ambitions in the general classification, supported by a balanced lineup that includes names like Ivo Oliveira, recently crowned national road champion, as well as Marc Soler and Jay Vine, both previous stage winners in the Spanish race.

The route of the 80th edition of the Vuelta, which starts this Saturday in Turin and ends in Madrid, will be particularly demanding, with more than 54,000 meters of accumulated elevation gain and emblematic finishes such as the Alto de l'Angliru and the Bola del Mundo, considered decisive in determining the winner.

For João Almeida, a native of Caldas da Rainha, this return also represents an opportunity to once again compete for the top spots in a Grand Tour, having already achieved two podium finishes in three-week races. "I think we're a strong team; we have two cards to play, and that's an advantage. We'll give it our all," he emphasized.

The team's sports director, Matxin Fernández, emphasized his confidence in the Almeida-Ayuso duo. "We entered the Vuelta with a clear plan, built around João and Juan. Both are solid contenders for the overall standings and complement each other very well. The structure supporting them has depth and experience, essential for the mountains and time trials," he stated.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG enters the final Grand Tour of the season with a plan centered around João Almeida and Juan Ayuso, who will have the support of a team ready to tackle the mountain stages and the team time trial of Stage 5, where they can gain an advantage in the fight for the overall standings.

- advertising -