"I now want to win this Tour de France for João Almeida" - Tadej Pogacar says UAE will 'have to reassess' after abandon of key domestique

Tadej Pogacar has been handed a potentially significant blow on stage 9 of the 2025 Tour de France, thanks to the abandonment of his right hand man for the mountains, João Almeida.

The Portuguese star crashed hard in the final 6km of stage 7, and was left with fractured ribs among other injuries. After bravely battling on through stage 8, Almeida was then forced to step off part way through stage 9 on Sunday afternoon. "It was already incredible how João coped with his injuries the last couple of days," Pogacar reflected in his post-stage 9 interview. "If I was suffering throughout the stage today, I cannot imagine how much he must have suffered."

"I have the utmost respect for him and I’m very sad he has to leave the race," the Maillot Jaune continues, admitting the absence of Almeida will be felt for the remainder of the Tour. "Having him in the GC battle was a luxury for us. We now have to reassess our strategy so that not having him affects us as little as possible. He was in great shape and I’m really looking forward to him recovering and coming back to racing. And, of course, I now want to win this Tour de France for Joao, too."

On stage 9, Pogacar was required to be constantly vigilant as Team Visma | Lease a Bike attempted to put the pressure on in the crosswinds, before Tim Merlier eventually sprinted to the win at the line. "We were expecting a stage like this one in Châteauroux. The heat made it harder, and having Mathieu Van der Poel up the road didn’t help either," Pogacar assessed. "It turned out super hard for a flat stage."

And on Monday's stage 10, the race heads into the mountains for the first time, so Almeida's absence could be immediately tested. "We expect a very hot, hard stage tomorrow. There will be a huge fight for the break, as it’s the French national day and all French riders will want to put on a great show. It will be hard to control, but we will be up there paying attention to the other team’s moves," previews the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader. "It’s not the hardest course, but it offers a lot of possibilities - also GC wise."