"I am here to help Tadej win what he is still missing" - Pogacar gets a golden domestique in João Almeida
CyclingFriday, 21 August 2026 at 13:31
João Almeida begins the 2026 Vuelta a España unsure of his form. After a season riddled with illnesses and crashes, the Portuguese rider arrives to the final Grand Tour of the season wanting to save his year, whilst simultaneously being the most important support rider for Tadej Pogacar.
A rough year for João Almeida
In Monaco, the press conference room that hosted riders all day long showed clearly where both leaders of UAE Team Emirates - XRG stood. A plethora of microphones ahead of Tadej Pogacar overshadowed the presence of Almeida - At the Tour de France, the room format did not showcase the same difference when Pogacar sat next to Isaac del Toro.
For Pogacar, it is the second Grand Tour of the year and a race that is about managing fatigue whilst - as Jeroen Swart said - 'getting the job done'. For Almeida, it will be the best and perhaps only chance to truly show his level and obtain results similar to what he's had in previous years.
The Portuguese rider was second at the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana behind Remco Evenepoel; and third at the Volta ao Algarve behind Juan Ayuso and an emerging Paul Seixas. Everything pointed towards another stellar year after a terrific 2025 campaign, but shortly after the situation changed.
An unknown virus began affecting his performances and ability to recover. After a disappointing Volta a Catalunya - where he also crashed - Almeida began an altitude camp towards the Giro. But there, his inability to train properly led him to decide to withdraw from what would be his major goal. He returned to racing at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes but his level was nowhere near what he had shown in the past.
"It has been a complicated year. I arrive here feeling good, but with little self-confidence," he admitted in a pre-race press conference. After being removed from the Vuelta a Burgos, Almeida was placed as a co-leader at the Tour de Pologne, where he crashed heavily alongside several of his teammates on stage 4. He withdrew from the race the following morning, effectively leaving him without a single proper test in racing for the past five months.
It is no surprise that form is a relative unknown, and that the absolute priority will be Pogacar's result. "I hope to be at my best and I will give everything, because we have a race to win. I am here to help Tadej win what he is still missing. If I can achieve a good result after that... all the better".
Tadej Pogacar and João Almeida at the 2026 Vuelta a España pre-race press conference
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Can Almeida return to his best level?
This will be Almeida's fifth Vuelta, a race where he has never finished outside the Top10 - and where, in 2023, he's had the worst result out of his seven Grand Tour finishes: ninth. Almeida is a specialist in the three-week races, regularly showing his consistency as one of his trump cards, something he's shown since his first-ever Grand Tour.
Whilst the preparation towards the Vuelta has not been ideal, he goes in with motivation to perform and improve throughout it: "I really like the Vuelta and I have ridden a few of them already. I am highly motivated and hope that it goes well, that I can enjoy it and have a good time with my teammates, who are like a second family to me".
Almeida is set to race the World and European Championships following the Vuelta a España, as well as Il Lombardia, as reported by Marca.
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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- The departures are eye-opening, especially when coupled with the ongoing sponsor crisis. But if you look at the biggest cases individually, it's harder to see a pattern: - Yates didn't switch teams, he quit cycling. - Niermann left for a bigger role than he had at Visma - Benoot wanted to stay, but left for more money - Kooij left because Visma is not a true sprint team, and TDF was unlikely Meanwhile Wout, Sepp, and others continue on with no hint of controversy or tension. I think the sponsor thing is real, but that aside I think most of what we are seeing is the normal, even inevitable turnover of a team that has enjoyed huge success over a period of years. Whether they can survive this transition and stay at/near the top is a fair question, but I'm not sure I see anything "rotten."MidnightRider21-08-2026
- Injuries aside, he just had the best year of his career and has negotiated a schedule that suits him better personally. Visma does seem to be going through a transition, but too many top professionals - Wout, Sepp, Laporte, Campy, etc. - are happy at Visma to say something is "rotten."MidnightRider21-08-2026
- Would have been nice to say what dat the race startscaptmike21-08-2026
- Clearly his heart just wasn't in it anymore. He gave us some pretty entertaining and exciting moments, though, and he rode with panache. I wish him all of the best for the future.
santiagobenites21-08-2026 - No, Pogi won't retire early. I can't imagine how frieders3 and maumaue-mause are feeling. Being Pogi haters and still having to watch him for the next 5 to 6 years must be discomforting. The poor guys.PogiSloFans21-08-2026
- I'm unstoppable I'm a Porsche with no brakes, I'm invincible. Yeah, I win every single game.PogiSloFans21-08-2026
- Pogi himself will take, till the end of the year, if everything goes well: Two GT's, four Monuments and the WC. Ain't that funny? :)) PS: He will probably also take the European Championships, considering it's in his and my beautiful Slovenia. POG=GOD !!!PogiSloFans21-08-2026
- Hey maumau-mause, this is a popular song here in Slovenia, from a singer called Adi Smolar. You can use ChatGPT to translate. But you usually sound so "SMART" you won't need ChatGPT: Jaz sem mali psihopat, psiho, psihopat, in te stisnu bom za vrat, bom za vrat! Z mano se ne smeš igrat, se ne smeš igrat, ker jaz sem mali psihopat, psihopat!PogiSloFans21-08-2026
- Maybe he doesn’t actually know he has multiple personality disorder?Mistermaumau21-08-2026
- Straight out of the old white orange mans’ playbook, as usual.Mistermaumau21-08-2026
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