"I'd like to ride the Tour de France" - João Almeida keen on next step to his career

After racing four consecutive Giri d'Italia, João Almeida is ready to race the Tour de France. 2024 will likely be the year however, and the Portuguese will now recover and then begin preparation towards the Vuelta a Espana.

"It was a very special Giro. We had very tough weather conditions, with rain and cold. I was sick and crashed, but so did half the peloton," Almeida said as he was received by the media in Portugal this Monday. "Overall, I wouldn't change anything, I did all I could and I think the result shows it. Only when I crossed the finish line in Rome did I realize I reached the podium."

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The 24-year old had a very similar preparation to that of Primoz Roglic into the Giro d'Italia, with no race days in the weeks leading up to it. After performing consistently and showing evolution in his climbing abilities, Almeida began the Giro as a clear podium contender. As the race went on his ambitions grew further and further however.

"The day I won the stage (stage 16, ed.) I thought of the possibility of bringing pink. But the following stages were very hard and the opponents were very strong," he explains. "I took it to the last centimeters and I was very happy with the result. The differences are even shorter, that shows the level of cycling and that all the details make the difference."

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Whilst the Portuguese's level did not lower in the final days of racing, both Geraint Thomas and Primoz Roglic - who equally arrived 'undercooked' to the Giro - showed impressive form, and at Val di Zoldo and Tre Cime di Lavaredo created differences on Almeida that were hard to recover. In the final time-trial he raced to third on the day, the same position which he ended the overall classification. He was rewarded with a victory in the youth classification for the first time in a Grand Tour despite his many strong results.

"Regularity is one of my advantages in comparison with my opponents. That comes from genetics, but also hard work. We have to be at a good level, be professional... All training camps count, sometimes people don't have an idea of how hard it is to be professional at 100%. I think that is one of my strong points."

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He had extensive support on the roads of Italy throughout the three weeks, and has thanked the presence of many fans out in the climbing stages. On stage 16 Almeida won his first Grand Tour stage, and his podium finish also makes for another set of achievements he was yet to conquer.

"Luckily in the last few years, in the big races there are always Portuguese people supporting me," Almeida continued. "I can say that when I see a Portuguese flag at the side of the road my legs even hurt less, and when I stop seeing it they hurt again," he jokes. "Clearly that makes a difference and I'm very thankful.

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Now he rests and is likely to race the national championships in June, before racing the Vuelta a Espana. He has mentioned before that he will likely race the Tour de Pologne as preparation, and at the Vuelta he will present himself - likely alongside Juan Ayuso - as a strong contender for a top result, perhaps even victory. However he shows ambition for bigger goals in the future.

"I want to focus on the rest of the season. In normal conditions I will be in the Vuelta a Espana and I would like to fight for the race. I still haven't discussed the calendar for next year, but I'd like to ride the Tour de France, it was already talked with the team. I think it's the next step to grow as a rider, because it's a different race," he concluded.

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