“Are they genuinely trying to win the Vuelta with Almeida?" - UAE questioned after tactical disaster on stage 9 sees Vingegaard take advantage

João Almeida’s Vuelta a Espana ambitions took a hit on stage 9 — and with them, serious questions are being asked about UAE Team Emirates - XRG’s commitment to their leader. The modest summit finish wasn’t supposed to create major gaps, but the Portuguese climber conceded 24 seconds to Jonas Vingegaard. More concerning than the time loss, however, was the way it happened — completely isolated, with no teammates in sight, while Team Visma | Lease a Bike executed a textbook offensive.

“Today, I was a bit short on team support. In the end, there was no one with me. That’s just how it is,” Almeida told Eurosport after the stage. “We were poorly positioned. They went off incredibly hard, and it was difficult to close the gap straight away. I couldn’t follow when Vingegaard attacked. I felt good on the climb, but he was flying.”

The honesty of Almeida’s words struck a chord — and so did the silence from UAE. It was left to Dutch cycling commentator and ex-pro Thijs Zonneveld to say what many fans were already thinking. “Are they actually trying to win the Vuelta with Almeida?” Zonneveld asked pointedly on the In de Waaier podcast. “Almeida is clearly trying. But who in the team is helping him?”

While Vingegaard was seamlessly slingshotted into position by his Visma teammates, Almeida was already fighting for position at the base of the climb. That’s where the damage began. Juan Ayuso, Jay Vine, Marc Soler — all were missing in action when it mattered. For a team with the resources and firepower of UAE, it was an inexcusable failure of coordination believes Zonneveld. “This is exactly what we talk about time and again,” he said. “And I completely get why Almeida is frustrated. He didn’t name names, but we all know who he means.”

Indeed, the most glaring absence was Ayuso. Having already dropped from GC contention — and fresh off a stage win — the Spaniard was nowhere near his co-leader when the pressure mounted. “If they had a tactical plan, surely it included Ayuso at least being there,” Zonneveld argued. “If he’s even slightly invested in helping win this Vuelta, these are the days he needs to show it. He could’ve helped open a gap or closed one — but he did nothing.”

Jay Vine, while slightly more involved, also rode largely for himself until a late pull. But Zonneveld’s sharpest criticism was reserved for Marc Soler — a rider he believes had the legs to help, but not the head. “Soler finished sixth on the stage, yet did absolutely nothing for Almeida. I honestly don’t think he has a great sense for racing. He’s just doing his own thing. He’s not someone who can read the race and adapt — he needs to be given very specific, robotic instructions. Otherwise, he just drifts.”

This lack of discipline and unity isn’t a one-off, Zonneveld insists — it’s a pattern. “There’s no urgency in that team to sacrifice for a designated leader. They just don’t do it. Look at the rest of the squad: Oliveira, Novak — they’re not good enough. Grossschartner? He’s always riding in no-man’s-land. Soler’s strong, but never where he needs to be. So Almeida ends up alone — again.”

The visual was telling: Almeida, dangling in no man's land, unable to latch onto the decisive move when Vingegaard surged. It wasn’t a question of form — by his own admission, Almeida felt good on the climb — but of positioning and support. “This kind of thing gets discussed at teams like Visma,” Zonneveld added. “If Almeida is consistently out of position, they’ll exploit it. And today they did.”

The stark contrast to UAE’s Tour de France cohesion — where the team rallied around Tadej Pogacar in every battle against Visma — couldn’t be more glaring. “Anyone could’ve helped: Ayuso, Vine, Soler. But no one did,” Zonneveld concluded. “That’s what happens when a team simply doesn’t ride for each other.”