"There comes a time when you have to listen to your body" - João Almeida on Tour de France departure

João Almeida has abandoned the Tour de France during stage 9 after two days of pain following his crash into the Mur-de-Bretagne. The UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider has shared a few words after leaving the Grand Boucle and the yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar.

"This is not how I imagined to finish this Tour. I leave sad and disappointed with what happened, I gave everything," João Almeida told the Portuguese media after confirming his withdrawal.

During the ninth stage of the race, after surviving stage 8, it seemed as if the Portuguese climber was on his way towards a slow recovery and could still potentially be of some help to the team during the second and third weeks. Ultimately this proved not to be possible.

The fall in the seventh stage turned out to be more serious than first thought. Despite the effort to continue over the next two days, the accumulated wear and tear and the pain caused by the rib fracture became impossible to cope with.

"There comes a time when you have to listen to your body. Now it's up to me to rest, heal the wounds and recover from the broken rib, and then think about the next objectives," the 26-year old explained.

"I think I did a good job in this first week and I'm proud of what I achieved. I wish my teammates all the luck until the end; I know that we have real chances of winning the Tour, we have a strong team, although unfortunately I will no longer be able to be part of it."

Most likely Almeida will return to racing at the Vuelta a España, but after this big physical and mental setback, it is a rather valid question whether he will be able to be present at the race or reach it with good form.