"The priority remains to work for Tadej, I'm here for that" - 4th overall Joao Almeida claims selflessly that he's ready to sacrifice himself for Tadej Pogacar if needed

Tadej Pogacar continues to smooth-sail through the Tour de France as his lead grows over three minutes with four stages left. This also gives a bit more freedom to his teammates, who can begin to look around for opportunities to score a result of their own. This is includes the number four in the general classification - Joao Almeida - for whom this would be a great result. But will he able to combine teammate duties with his personal ambitions? We'll likely get an answer on stages 19 and 20.

"I didn't know he was going to attack," admits Joao Almeida in an interview with Cyclism'Actu with a small smile. "We had a good day, we were always in front. The breakaway took a while to get going, but after that it was pretty calm," he continues.

While domestique duties take priority over personal ambitions, the general classification doesn't look to bad for Almeida either. Currently fourth overall, he'll need to fence off Spaniards Mikel Landa and Carlos Rodríguez in remaining stages.

On a personal level, Almeida's sensations are how he'd have expected it to be. "I'm fine. Another day is behind us and there are still a few stages to go. Climbing the general classification? If that happens, so much the better, but the priority remains to work for Tadej, I'm here for that," he reassures.