João Almeida wants new challenges for 2024: "Going to the Giro d'Italia is getting repetitive"
Cycling
João Almeida wants new challenges for 2024, with the Portuguese cyclist admitting that, in addition to the Tour de France, he would like to do "other types of races", such as the Critérium du Dauphiné or the Ardennes Classics. The arider from A-Dos-Francos spoke openly about his future.
"The calendar hasn't been discussed yet, but I'd like to do the Tour de France, because I've raced the Giro many times and it's getting a bit repetitive. I'd also like to do the Dauphiné or the Tour de Suisse and other races. Maybe the Ardennes Classics [...]. I think it's also important as a racer," he said in an interview published in the newsletter of the Portuguese Cycling Federation.
"But it's also a year in which we have the Olympic Games, then we have the Vuelta starting in Portugal... it's also quite special. We have to manage the calendar well. Personally, before I knew I was going to start in Portugal, my goal was just the Tour and the Olympics, obviously if I'm [called up], and maybe leave the Vuelta as a plan B if I felt good. Starting in Portugal... it rarely happens that a great Tour starts in our country, so I think it would be great to do the Vuelta," he admitted.
After placing in the top 10 in 22 of the 25 stage races he has taken part in since 2020, João Almeida now wants to try another type of race, namely the Ardennes classics. It's his source of motivation and the way to dispel the unknowns about his potential in World Tour races where he has never competed.
"In recent years, I've been focusing a lot on stage races, I do very few one-day races. The only time I've done the Ardennes classics, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, in 2021, I felt pretty good, but it's a different race to what I'm used to and the preparation will have to be different," he said.
At the age of 25, Almeida says he doesn't like "having long-term goals", preferring to "go year by year". Living in the past, with what he has achieved so far, is something he doesn't want and he will do everything he can to ensure that the future brings him new and motivating challenges.
"I've already made a podium in a grand tour, if I could make more podiums or even win... we know it's very difficult these days. To be in contention in races is my career goal," concluded the Portuguese rider, who finished the season as the 10th best rider of 2023 in the UCI rankings.
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Article written by Juan Larra.
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