"I think we're going to have plenty of stage wins with Tadej" - João Almeida shrugs off individual ambitions at La Vuelta
CyclingWednesday, 26 August 2026 at 15:30
João Almeida was second at last year's Vuelta a España and was the best placed rider to begin this year's edition. But the first days of the race have shown a Portuguese rider at a very different level, falling out of GC completely on the very first mountain stage.
A bad day sees Almeida out of GC
Whilst on stage 1 Almeida showed a good level, and on stage 3 the overall classification remained the same after the stage was cancelled, stage 4 provided the first uninterrupted mountain challenge of the race.
At home nevertheless for Almeida, but by the time the riders crossed the border into Andorra, he was already minutes behind the peloton.
"I wanted to make a good pace especially. I wasn't feeling great, but I also had a puncture in the worst possible moment, just before I tumbled over my bike," he recalled. "I got lost in the bush and it was impossible to come back," Almeida said in a pre-race interview this morning, as reported by Domestique.
Almeida was set to be Tadej Pogacar's main domestique during the Spanish Grand Tour. His season has been wrecked due to a viral infection he got in March, and hasn't been able to perform since.
After getting dropped on the climb to the Port d'Envalira, Almeida wouldn't return to the peloton led by Decathlon CMA CGM Team, but instead stayed in one of the large grupettos.
"I think the group was just getting bigger and bigger and bigger. We knew more or less how much time we had left on the finish line, I think it was all under control," he said, with time limit worries even being expressed in the group.
"But on the other side the group was so big that we just thought, there's no way they're going to keep us out of the race, because otherwise the race is over. The pace was always decent. Even in the downhills we were taking some risks, but nothing special."
João Almeida is now out of GC and focusing on Tadej Pogacar at La Vuelta
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Is a stage win a goal for Almeida?
Almeida began stage 5 this Wednesday morning with a completely different mindset. GC is no longer an option, having lost 22 minutes in Andorra; working for Tadej Pogacar is now the priority.
Pogacar has, and is, expected to dominate the Vuelta and over the coming weeks there will be plenty days the team can take a win on. But Almeida shares that the team don't always need to do so.
"It's always an opportunity, but it's still a long way to Granada this year. Many stages are tricky like today, so we need to be focused as a team, and the goal is the red jersey. I think we're going to have plenty of stage wins with Tadej. We don't need to go for every single one."
"We just feel relaxed because we have such a good leader, and we are completely focused as a team," he assures. "We just need to do the work and the rest is going to come."
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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