“João is a fighter” – Almeida starts Tour de France stage 8 despite injuries

João Almeida will take the start in Stage 8 of the Tour de France, less than 24 hours after crashing hard and fracturing a rib at the end of yesterday’s stage. UAE Team Emirates - XRG team manager Mauro Gianetti confirmed to WielerFlits that the team’s crucial mountain domestique is fit to continue, at least for now.

“João had a good night. Fortunately, he doesn't have any serious injuries or concussions,” Gianetti said. “He was already smiling again at breakfast. He's motivated and he'll start. João is a fighter.”

Almeida managed to finish yesterday’s stage despite the injury, trailing in over ten minutes behind his teammate and stage winner Tadej Pogacar. His general classification hopes are over. “He might need two days to recover now, but he'll be fine,” Gianetti added.

Almeida had been looking like a potential threat to the podium, even if most of his energy would be spent helping Pogacar. Having finished fourth last year, that would have been a dream result for Almeida.

The Portuguese rider had come into the race on a high, after winning three stage races earlier this season. “He's a fantastic rider who's having a great season. João is obviously a very important player within our team and for Tadej.”