"I think it was my worst day ever on the bike" - Joao Almeida loses nearly seven minutes on nightmare stage at the Vuelta a Espana

It's fair to say, things did not go to plan for Joao Almeida on stage 13 of the 2023 Vuelta a Espana. Sadly for the Portuguese, he struggles throughout the day, losing nearly seven minutes and surely falling out of Red Jersey contention.

"I had a bad day, actually I didn't feel well the whole time," laments the UAE Team Emirates rider in his post-stage interview. "I kept fighting, but it is what it is. That's how it goes sometimes in cycling. What exactly was it? I have pain all over my body, like I have the flu. That's frustrating, because things were going in the right direction. Again: it is what it is."

Almeida wasn't the only one put into difficulty on the queen stage of the race as Jumbo-Visma completely and utterly dominated. Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss and Primoz Roglic finishing one-two-three on the stage and now complete the podium. For Almeida though, the whole stage was a struggle.

"I don't know how I kept going, I think it's because of the team. They guided me very well and I didn't want to just throw everything away," he assesses. "I continued to suffer, I think it was my worst day ever on the bike. However, those moments make you as a rider, so ultimately you make the difference."

"I turned off my radio," Almeida admits, concluding with a mention of his teammates Marc Soler and Juan Ayuso who now sit 6th and 4th in the GC. "Nothing has been lost, but nothing has been gained either. We have to keep fighting, as an individual I will try to get the most out of it for the other boys. We are not aiming for third or fourth place, we are doing everything we can to win as a team."