João Almeida confirms UAE's stage-win focus: "I'm the first to say they can go their own way"

João Almeida is having his opportunity at the Giro d'Italia, where he was assigned team leader for UAE Team Emirates and will be ambitioning a strong position in the overall classification.

"I'm happy with my form and don't feel any pressure, but I do feel responsible for the whole team. I've worked hard to be here in my best shape. I am confident, but not too confident," he enigmatically told the press this Wednesday. After a fourth and sixth place in the previous editions - his only Grand Tours to date - Almeida is coming in as a reliable GC contender, with the goal of finally reaching the race's final podium.

Almeida is happy with his preparation for the race, which was concluded in Sierra Nevada where he trained at altitude with several of his teammates: "The training sessions went well and it was all building towards that one goal. I will give everything for that. The main goal is the general classification, but my teammates can certainly take their chance in other stages. I'm the first to say they can go their own way. But we will keep the classification in mind," he says. This confirms the focus of the team in stage wins, having the likes of Alessandro Covi and Davide Formolo who will eye the hilly stages, and Fernando Gaviria who will go for the sprints.

Almeida finished the UAE Tour in fifth place, Paris-Nice in eighth place - with the youth classification win - and the Volta a Catalunya in third having won the queen stage. He's a very complete stage-racer and a very consistent rider, however his climbing prowess is also evolving throughout the years as it became clear in last year's race, and Catalunya less than two months ago.

He said that the pink jersey, which he carried for 15 days, is also a possibility early on in the race. As for the possibility of that happening, he says: “But it is short, and there are a lot of good riders here. Mathieu van der Poel is a good example. He can do a good time trial. There is a scenario that I already have the pink jersey after the time trial. It may be too early to grab the pink, but I'm going to do everything I can to grab time on the competition. In that case I would be very happy with it.”

Very early in the race though, the mountains will appear - on the fourth stage which finishes on the slopes of Europe's most active volcano, Mount Etna - and Almeida is aware of how important it is to be well prepared for it: "In the second and third week there are very tough stages with many well-known climbs, but Etna will also be very important. You can't win the Giro there, but you can lose it. So that will already be crucial.”

“Bahrain Victorious and INEOS Grenadiers have really strong teams. They can determine the course and play out several leaders, while we only have one trump. In the end, only one person can win, but I think we're going to have a good battle. It will be a very demanding Giro, but that applies to everyone,” he concluded.