"There’s not really been a GC race" until now says João Almeida, excited for the mountains at the Giro d'Italia

João Almeida is sitting in third place in the overall classification at the Giro d'Italia at the start of the 14th stage which may see an explosive stage to Torino. One which can shake up the GC. The leader of UAE Team Emirates has not yet been put under serious pressure in the race, and is heading to the decisive set of stages in a position to win the race.

Asked if the GC battle so far has been very consevative, Almeida agrees that “it’s basically a little bit true. We’ve only had the Blockhaus, nothing else. Other than that, there’s not really been a GC race. So it’s been a bit boring to be honest," he told VeloNews. Last year, the first week saw him loose over four minutes in Sestola. His strong final week saw him rise to sixth in the overall classification, and he's aiming higher as the first week went perfectly for the Portuguese.

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With stalemates at Mount Etna and Potenza, only seconds separated most GC contenders at Blockhaus, in which Almeida passed the climbing test with a great performance. Despite lacking the time-trial kilometers to make the difference this year, Almeida is eager of the battle in the Alps that's to come starting this weekend.

"All of the mountains are in the last stages. I think it would be nicer if they were spread out a bit more. But it is what it is. There have been some hard days out there for everybody. But it’s just a pity that there’s not been more GC days," he says.

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Today in Torino there may be a very dangerous and explosive stage, not the best for his more pace-guided way of climbing. However Sunday's stage in the Valle d'Aosta is a day he is eyeing: “I suspect that it’s going to make a difference the day after. The Torino stage is just such a hard day that the Cogne stage will be tougher because of that. So, it could well be that somebody in the GC battle will struggle,” he added.

Although the final week will be decisive, the 23-year old is taking the race one day at a time, and details his thoughts on stage 15 - the return to the high mountains. “I looked in there and the end isn’t that steep. It climbs quite slowly. But it will still be tough because the climbs that come before it are hard. I think I’m in really good shape. I just need to have a good day, a normal day today into, and I think I’ll be fine for the weekend. I can’t wait for it," he concluded. 

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At the team hotel, preparing everything for today’s #Giro stage 14. #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE

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