"He said sorry for his words" - Tom Pidcock reveals Joao Almeida apologized for 'grow some balls' comments

Tom Pidcock continues to race through the Vuelta a Espana with extraordinary form, and is truly going for a proper test of what he is capable of doing with the right settings and form in a Grand Tour. After the harsh words he got from João Almeida on the climb to Valdezcaray on Sunday, the leader of Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team revealed today that Almeida has apologized in the meantime.

Stage 10 was by no means a calm day in the peloton, but in the midst of the action, there was space for a calmer moment of conversation between the two. "He said sorry for his words, but I don't take anything to heart," Pidcock said in a post-race interview with Eurosport. "It's in the heat of the moment. I've also said stuff to people before, so I have no hard feelings".

After Jonas Vingegaard attacked on Sunday's summit finish, Almeida was left to chase, with a pace so high that everyone but Pidcock was dropped without a big acceleration. Unable to close the gap however, Almeida became increasingly frustrated with the Briton's lack of work, who argued he did not have the legs to maintain the pace.

Pidcock said at the time: “He said I needed to grow some balls. I said, ‘If you slow down a bit, I can keep up and take turns.’” But by the end of stage 10, the only attacks came in the form of massive watts layed down in the ascent to Larra Belagua. 

With Torstein Traeen losing time, Pidcock has come closer and closer to the podium - on paper, the Norwegian will continue to lose time and Pidcock is provisionally on the Top3. He's had another strong day, not attacking but also not showing too many difficulties against the attacks of Almeida.

"I feel super good. After a performance like I did before the rest day on Sunday, it fills me with confidence. Today I felt good, so the more that happens, the better I feel. The start was super fast, but it's not really that hard on the wheels. A lot of tired bodies inside of the peloton".

"I knew that the climb was going to be pretty tough, but it went a lot faster than yesterday's plan, so it was not too bad in the end". However this extra speed and fatigue proved to be no real challenge for the 26-year old, who led the GC group home only a minute after stage winner Jay Vine.

"We kind of knew that the Giro was a probability, but I didn't want to sacrifice my classics and Ardennes programme. The Giro was too much. I was not fresh, not ready. But this is different," he admits.