João Almeida is one of the most unique riders in the peloton currently, with his traditional climbing style often leading to dramatic finales, and today's at the Vuelta a Burgos was no exception as he stormed to the stage win.
"Today went really well. It’s a special win as the last few months have been difficult, I haven’t been feeling too good on the bike and struggled to find my form," the Portuguese revealed in a post-stage interview. "This week has been important as I’ve been riding my way into the week and today I felt good and attacked and took a win".
He abandoned the Giro d'Italia in it's last week due to a Covid-19 positive whilst fighting for the podium, and although he managed to return to competition with a win at the Portuguese national championships, he struggled to find his best legs. His first days in Burgos were not easy, as he shed time on the opening day, and struggled in the ascent to Picón Blanco at stage three.
However on the queen stage he turned the tables around. Initially dropped at the start of the steepest section of the ascent, Almeida seemed to be far from the stage contention. However one by one he went through many of the GC contenders until he bridged over to the reduced GC group that was down to only three riders. After taking a bit of restbite - if one could call it that - he launched an acceleration inside the final minute of racing, and then held off Miguel Ángel López within the final sprint.
Although the win was the priority, it also saw him rise to second in the final GC, behind Pavel Sivakov who dealt a killer blow earlier in the week. "The next goal is the Vuelta España in two weeks so I’m going there now with added confidence from today," the 24-year old exclamated.
"Now I’ll rest up a bit, do the last training sessions and try and be ready for La Vuelta. I’m really looking forward to it," he concluded. With Tadej Pogacar now out of the Vuelta for this year, Almeida will have another chance to lead UAE Team Emirates at a Grand Tour.
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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- So far, a good series about riders before my time, even if the text feels AI generated like so much on this site. About the rider, he seems like one of many who are active fan favorites but don’t survive in the stories of cycling, a few decades later - I didn’t really know anything about him and this was a good read, thank you!RidesHills15-11-2026
- A calm, honest documentary, a bit of hagiography but mostly not too much. When he talks about a coffee shop, it aligns with several things in his world - he might want calm, but he does (more than a little bit) have someone near him (his fiancee) who makes sure that things happen the way he expects. Many atheletes have retired only to find out just how much others were taking care of their lives for them. If they work out (I'm old, things happen), I am sure it will take a renegotiation, which is a good thing. I truly enjoyed watching it, seeing him, seeing her, seeing the whole system built around him.RidesHills15-11-2026
- You do? My mother grew up around Bleiburg (Pliberk), across the border in Austria . My grandparents lived close to the train station in Bleiburg, and I spent a lot of the 70s and 80s there. The "Jugo" train of my youth went to Dravograd or Maribor, exotic places (behind the wall) at the time. What a moment that was, the 10 days war of '91 - times sure have changed.RidesHills15-11-2026
- I hope he rides a bitmij15-11-2026
- Greatest athlete this world has ever produced ! LOL ... you definitely are a comdian ! Cycling is so sprecialized and you think he's the greatest athlete ever ! Still laughing !frieders315-11-2026
- b.s. headline. Jonas wasn't told anything, it is just a pundit telling him what to do. the actual article is not even close to the insinuation of the headline.mij15-11-2026
- I think Roglic could have beaten Sepp. not Jonas. I was referring to Sepp.mij15-11-2026
- I'm deeply sick of this guy and his unwillingness to race seriously for more than a month or two. I'll never respect riders who do that. Seixas will be stronger than him next season, and maybe Del Toro as well. I don't even think he'll finish on the podium at any GT where Pogi, Seixas, and Del Toro are racing.megasmacky15-11-2026
- Not a chance in hell.megasmacky15-11-2026
- If you go watch some races from last season other riders that have never caught Jonas...are now catching him. Some are just riding away from him and he can't hold the wheelmd197514-11-2026
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5 Etapas | #VueltaBurgos 🥳 Celebraciones, una vez pasada la línea de meta, del ganador de etapa @JooAlmeida98 - @TeamEmiratesUAE y del ganador de la General de la Vuelta a Burgos @PavelSivakov - @INEOSGrenadiers Lagunas de Neila, una cima legendaria. #Almeida #Sivakov
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