UPDATE: UAE share positive news on condition of João Almeida: "He should be able to start tomorrow’s stage"

Stage 7 was another brilliant day for UAE Team Emirates - XRG at the 2025 Tour de France as Tadej Pogacar powered to the stage win atop the Mur-de-Bretagne, regaining his Maillot Jaune in the process. It wasn't a day without disappointment for the team however, as the Slovenian's second in command João Almeida crashed hard.

At just over 6km to go on stage 7 and with the finale on the Mur-de-Bretagne looming, UAE Team Emirates - XRG and Team Visma | Lease a Bike were fighting for position at the front. That's when disaster struck though, and the much reduced peloton was rocked by a violent crash at the back of the bunch, with the likes of Almeida, Santiago Buitrago, Enric Mas, Ben Healy, Guillaume Martin and more going down.

“It’s a real shame that João crashed. We’re all hoping he’s okay," UAE sports director Andrej Hauptman told the Slovenian media in a post-stage interview, not yet able to give any solid updates on Almeida's future in the race, despite the Portuguese being able to finish the stage. "He’s on his way for scans now, and we’ll know more after that. It’s why the day wasn’t quite perfect.”

Nevertheless, with Pogacar showing himself the strongest yet again, UAE have reason to be happy. “We’re obviously thrilled with the win — the guys did a phenomenal job,” Hauptman reflects. “Tadej was feeling strong right from the start, and so we made the call to control the race. Everything went to plan.”

In a post on UAE Team Emirates - XRG's official social media, a more conclusive update has now been shared.

“Thankfully there was no serious injury and he was able to finish the stage," the post begins positively. "After clinical examination, we immediately took him for relevant radiological investigations. It’s confirmed he has an uncomplicated left-sided rib fracture, as well as some profound abrasions to his body. Fortunately no concussion. We will be monitoring him carefully going forward. The next few days will be difficult for him, but at this point, he should be able to start tomorrow’s stage.”