João Almeida "is better than someone like Remco Evenepoel" - Can Tour de Suisse winner contest Tour de France podium?

Cycling
Tuesday, 24 June 2025 at 09:30
almeida
Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel will be taking the spotlight at this year's Tour de France overall classification battle, but it would be naive to think that no-one else has a chance to finish on the final podium, and this includes domestiques of the leaders. João Almeida comes in with a supporting role despite his Tour de Suisse victory, but some argue that a podium is still very possible for him.
"He has become a bit calmer in recent years. In the past, he would have wanted to go to the Tour de France as a leader after winning the Tour de Suisse," Laurens Ten Dam argued in the Live Slow Ride Fast podcast. "He will probably adapt to Pogacar's wishes. But he is better than someone like Remco Evenepoel. And then you are just Pogacar's domestique..."
Almeida has put in tremendous climbing performances at the Volta ao Algarve and Paris-Nice; and later on won the GC at Itzulia Basque Country, Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse all consecutively. "His last three WorldTour races... What else can you say?"
The Portuguese rider is incredibly consistent and a very complete rider, who seems to have taken a step up when it comes to climbing this year in shorter efforts. Last year he was already fourth at the Tour de France whilst riding in support of Pogacar, and realistically he could match that once again this year.
Ten Dam wonders however about the Portuguese's personal ambitions taking into consideration how strong he has been: "Last year in the Tour de France he got angry at Ayuso, who did not ride long enough at the front and was too concerned with his own position. And at Quick-Step he also rode more for his own chance":
"Only yes, the relationships between Pogacar and Almeida are very different. He is a stealth killer. He now wins three races in a week. Then you have to be a killer, that's what he is. He really is such a Portuguese, so to speak."
claps 13visitors 11
9 Comments

Just in

Popular news

Latest comments