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"
CyclingFriday, 21 June 2024 at 12:30
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."
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We might have another controversy in the TdeF if UAE performs like Visma did in the Vuelta.
Pogacar will have to be minutes better than his teammates to keep their egos in check.
This could be the race within the race. It'll be interesting if Visma can keep Jonas V up there with UAE.
Pog is the leader. Nothing will change in the TdF.
too many cooks spoil the broth. I am looking forward to UAE drama
They will all work for the big dog. That’s the main thing. Having an undisputed leader makes it easier to control the drama.
Yes Ayuso for certain sees himself as a leader and I don't see him wanting to play second fiddle to Pog for the next 5 plus years. Ayuso would be leader at most of the world tour teams. His problem now is that he has signed a long contract which might take some getting out of.
Even if Ayuso goes rogue Yates and Almeida already provide a ridiculously strong team of mountain domestiques.
Almeida and Yates have both been public about saying the number 1 goal is a win through Pogi.
Ayuso is the wild card if anyone.
Ayuso can't even beat Carlos Rodriguez.
He knows he's Pogi's helper bee.
In fairness to Ayuso it’s been about 50/50 head to head against Rodríguez.
I agree that most likely he’ll be a good helper to Tadej
Rodriguez would rank somewhere between 5th and 8th as a GT rider and he is just as good as Ayuso so it's no surpise that Ayuson can'yt always beat him.