OPINION | Joao Almeida will have the last laugh if Del Toro cracks like Ayuso
CyclingWednesday, 28 May 2025 at 16:23
Stage 16 of the 2025 Giro d’Italia may come to be remembered
as the day everything changed. It was a day when the high Alps delivered not
just suffering, but a shift in the entire story of this Grand Tour. The
drama began with Primoz Roglic, once the overwhelming favourite, climbing into
the team car after yet another crash. The man tipped by many to win a second
Maglia Rosa was suddenly gone.
Then came the implosion of UAE Team Emirates – XRG’s dual
leadership strategy.
Juan Ayuso, riding third on GC and billed as the team's next
Grand Tour champion, was the first to fall. On the slopes of the Passo Santa
Barbara, EF Education-EasyPost upped the pace, and Ayuso fell away with a
whimper. There was no last stand, no desperate attempt to limit losses. He
cracked, sat up, and let the race ride away from him. By the end of the day,
Ayuso had tumbled to 17th overall. Whatever hopes UAE had placed on him, they are
now buried in the gravel.
For a moment, it seemed their leadership problem was solved.
No more internal dilemmas. No more divided loyalties. The team could now rally
fully around the young, brilliant Isaac Del Toro, the new pink jersey and
revelation of the race.
But that illusion didn’t last long.
Del Toro showed that he is human on stage 16
Because as the race climbed higher, so did the pressure. On
the final ascent to San Valentino, after 200 brutal kilometres, Del Toro
cracked too. First, he let Richard Carapaz go. Then he lost the wheel of Simon
Yates. By the finish, the time gaps had ballooned, Carapaz took around 1:35 on
Del Toro, and Simon Yates now sits just 26 seconds behind the maglia rosa.
Carapaz is only 31 seconds back. Derek Gee, fourth, lurks at 1:31. The jersey
is far from secure, and Del Toro suddenly looks very human.
So now, UAE are left with one contender where they had two,
and a rider leading the Giro by mere seconds, not minutes. A rider who, for the
first time in this race, showed clear signs of weakness.
And somewhere, watching it all unfold, João Almeida must be
shaking his head. Or maybe laughing. Well, maybe not laughing, because Almeida
has always shown himself to be a respectful and brilliant teammate. But he may
at least feel a point has been proven, without him even being present.
Because while UAE spent the last two seasons sweeping up
race win after race win, they’ve continually overlooked the one man who does
what every Grand Tour team craves: deliver, consistently.
Almeida is 26 years old and has never finished outside the
top 10 in a Grand Tour he’s completed. In 2020, he was fourth at the Giro. In
2021, sixth. In 2023, third. He was fifth at the 2022 Vuelta and ninth in 2023,
and last year, in the service of Tadej Pogacar, he still managed to finish
fourth at the Tour de France, while riding almost entirely for someone else.
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Most teams would build around a rider with that résumé. At
UAE, he’s third in line. Maybe even fourth now with the emergence of Del Toro.
This Giro was never going to be his. UAE’s plan was Ayuso
first, Del Toro second, and Almeida, despite winning Itzulia and Romandie
earlier this season, was again cast as the domestique elsewhere. Ayuso got the
nod here, and Almeida will be working for Pogacar again at the Tour. And with
Pogacar likely eyeing the Vuelta to complete his grand tour collection, Almeida
won’t get leadership there either.
There is something deeply frustrating about seeing a rider
as complete and consistent as Almeida confined to the shadows. Especially when
the riders chosen ahead of him are still building their reputations, and ,critically,
still proving their reliability. Ayuso’s brilliance is undeniable, I’m under no
illusions that he has an incredibly bright future.
Is Almeida too often overlooked?
But so, too, is his unpredictability, as we have seen that his
form can soar, and vanish just as quickly.
That’s what makes Stage 16 sting, as UAE backed Ayuso, who
cracked. Now they’re all in on Del Toro, who just might totally crack in the
coming days. And if he does, and Simon Yates or Richard Carapaz swoop in to
take the Giro, it will be hard not to wonder how things might’ve been different
if the team had built around the one man who never collapses in the third week.
Because that’s the thing about Almeida. He doesn’t dazzle in
the same way, he rarely attacks from 5km out, and he doesn’t send the crowd
into raptures. But what he does do is keep showing up. He climbs at his rhythm,
limits his losses, and always gets stronger as the race goes on; if you're
building a team to win three-week races, that reliability is gold dust.
Right now, Almeida is not in Italy. But his absence from the
leadership conversation is perhaps the biggest indictment of how UAE have
structured their priorities, in my humble opinion. There is a fine line between
investing in future brilliance and ignoring proven results. If Del Toro fades
and UAE once again leave a Grand Tour empty-handed, they’ll have nobody to
blame but themselves.
Of course, for the sport it is not a bad thing if UAE don’t
win this race. And UAE are in a very fortunate position to have this array of
talent, but I just feel that Almeida has not been given enough chances.
It’s not just a question of whether Almeida could’ve won
this Giro. It’s a question of what more he has to do to earn the leadership
role at a grand tour. His 2025 season has been exceptional, as he has won the
GC at the Tour de Romandie and Itzulia Basque Country, and was second in the
Algarve and sixth at Paris-Nice. He’s doing everything right, ticking every
box. Except, it seems, the one that gets you team leadership at UAE.
And so, if Del Toro cracks like Ayuso, and Almeida finishes
the season having supported Pogacar all year without ever being given a shot of
his own, the laughter may come with a tinge of bitterness. But it will still be
justified.
Because if João Almeida had been trusted with this Giro, he
probably wouldn’t have cracked on the Passo Santa Barbara. He probably wouldn’t
have lost time on San Valentino. He might not have won the race, but he would
still be in it.
And that, in week three of a Grand Tour, is sometimes all
that matters.
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In a team where Pogi is present, the others would be helpers was already known. Yet Ayuso, Almeida, Adam all signed up due to money. Now they cannot demand anything over Pogi. Leftovers is the best that they can get.
Almeida led UAE at the Giro 2023. He would have led at the Vuelta last year if he wasn’t sick and had to withdraw. He has had chances for sure. Problem is if Pogi rides two GT per year then there is only one other opportunity per year.
How long does Ayuso have left at UAE? That might open up a slot unless Del Toro takes it.
His contract is until 2028. Isaac's contract is until 2029 and will be revised if he can keep the GC podium. Like it or not, it will be very hard for other team to secure Juan Ayuso's service before the end of the contract because UAE has money and won't let go of him that easily.
Almeida’s is up in 2027 when he’ll be 28. Let the bidding begin.
Ok, you’ve said it 7 different ways but what about adding some journalistic value to opinion and actually going to interview a relevant person about this? Try asking some revealing questions like whether he feels/ felt up to the task, why he sticks around if he’s hungry for leadership, whether his recent spate of rare wins has changed his outlook, whether he has ever asked or been refused leadership, etc.
It’s all very well pointing out the obvious but usually there IS a reason for it, maybe a more interesting discussion and opinionising subject would be the REASON and not the fact?
Almeida is like Landa. Dignified and brilliant and impossible not to admire.
Yes, Almedia is brilliant but if you're a fan of Almeida, his slow build up on the climb will put you on the edge of the chair. You just don't know if he is being dropped or doing his own pacing.