Joao Almeida eyes big Tour de France debut: "I’m proud to be going there as part of a very strong team with big ambitions"

João Almeida will be an important part of Tadej Pogacar's Tour de France team, but the Portuguese may not be without chances to score a solid result for himself too. Providing everything goes according to the plan.

With six grand tours under his belt (4x Giro d'Italia, 2x Vuelta a Espana) and a third place from 2023 Giro and fourth at 2022 Vuelta, the 25-year-old climber is heading towards his big Tour de France debut. And it will be under a lot of pressure as UAE Team Emirates come for nothing but overall victory in Nice.

While his main tasks will lie elsewhere, it may be unwise to write Almeida off the battle for at least a top 5 in the general classification. As we have wittnessed at recent Tour de Suisse, the runner-up from the race (behind teammate Adam Yates) is capable of combining personal ambitions with those of his team very effectively. Whether he'll get the chance to hang on in the GC also in France, will depend on how will UAE Team Emirates' mountain train look like after first couple stages.

"It’s my first ever Tour which is exciting and I’m proud to be going there as part of a very strong team with big ambitions in the race," Almeida shared in a lineup announcement from his team. "The Tour de Suisse was a nice confidence booster and confirmation the condition is good so we’re ready to get things going."