"He's very strong, I'm happy to have been on his wheel" - João Almeida on Jonas Vingegaard and La Farrapona
Cycling
João Almeida put Jonas Vingegaard on the ropes at the Alto de l'Angliru but was unable to do so at La Farrapona. Perhaps the strong wind changed the Portuguese climber's mind, but at the second high mountain stage of the race there was a truce between the two main GC favourites who remained virtually in the same position at the end of the day.
"Impressive. The plan initially was not to put Marc [Soler] in the breakaway, but we decided it was a good idea especially because there was a headwind at the finish and maybe we were going to need him at the end. We had nothing to lose, we tried to win and we gave it our best shot."
UAE had Soler and Mikkel Bjerg in front, with the Dane playing a role in UAE's plan to make the race hard. On the Alto de San Lorenzo there was the start for an offensive, which used up all of the team's riders - except for Soler - but culminated in nothing, as there was no attack from the second overall on the final climb.
In the end both followed Jai Hindley in the final minutes of the ascent and then sprinted it out. He underplayed his own abilities, saying this of Vingegaard: "He's very strong, I'm happy to have been on his wheel".
Almeida remains second in the overall classification of the Vuelta a España just 48 seconds behind Vingegaard. Tomorrow, Sunday's 15th stage has mountains only at the start, so an breakaway is likely to succeed and the GC action will continue on the third week.
On Tuesday, on stage 16, a high finish in Castro de Herville, where hostilities may return before the three decisive days that remain: the climb to the Alto de El Morredero, the 27-kilometer time trial in Valladolid and the fearsome Bola del Mundo in the penultimate stage.
Almeida had the support of UAE to once again put pressure on Jonas Vingegaard. @Sirotti
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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