João Almeida expects brutal day at Paris-Nice today: "For sure BORA and Quick-Step want to make some time back"
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates have won the team time-trial at Paris-Nice and consolidated themselves in the race lead with four contenders. They have to defend themselves against Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, but also try to make use of their numbers as they are not the riders to beat.
"It's been a really good race, we did a great team effort yesterday so we're very satisfied with it. First test of the season, here I am to see where I am," João Almeida said this morning to CyclingPro.net. He was one of the four riders to finish in front yesterday. "It's a good thing to have, we're a really strong team. It's my first race I don't really know what to expected so it's good to have my teammates in good shape and do a really good result as well."
The Portuguese rider is making his season debut today after illness in February, but teammate and yellow jersey Brandon McNulty said Almeida was the leader last afternoon. The American also admit recently that he sometimes struggles with pressure and that was likely an attempt to shrug off pressure. From within UAE there are no other calls for sole leadership from any rider, as all four - including also Jay Vine and Finn Fisher-Black - have the legs to contest for a strong result today and take over the race lead.
However they have to race against other rivals, other teams that will certainly make the race hard. "For sure BORA and Quick-Step want to make some time back so I expect a hard race, there are other teams as well so it will be a hectic day," he says. Remco Evenepoel only sits back 18 seconds on the quartet, well within reach of yellow in today's summit finish at Mont Brouilly.
The Portuguese rider is keeping the team's tactics in private, but it would not be a surprise to see an early move from one of the riders so as to try and take advantage of possible numerical superiority. "We don't know, we'll see in the end. It's a hard finish, short and quite steep, but the whole day is gonna be hard so I think we're gonna arrive satisfied at the finish line," he concluded.
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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.
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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)...
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
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🥇🔥 UAE Team Emirates 🇦🇪 wins team time trial at #ParisNice 🇫🇷. Well done, guys!👏👏👏 #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE
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