UAE's forgotten leader - Joao Almeida laments season of setbacks and injuries as Pogacar and del Toro continue to dominate
Cycling
Perhaps the most glaring example of how a year can change everything, Joao Almeida won't want to be reminded of his 2026 season as he went from Tour de France super-domestique and the Vuelta a Espana podium to struggling to finish several races and a lacklustre Vuelta a Espana.
The Portuguese rider has been hit by crashes and illness throughout most of the season that saw him ruled out of the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France before struggling to find form at both the Vuelta and World Championships last weekend.
In 2025, he was the go-to domestique for Pogacar in the Tour and other races, winning the overall in the Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse and Itzulia Basque Country. However, Almeida's struggles this season have coincided with Isaac del Toro's definitive rise within the ranks at UAE.
The Mexican rider has picked up general classification wins in UAE Tour, Tirreno Adriatico and the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes before his Tour podium in 2026. If Almeida was to re-find his form, UAE have a dilemma on their hands after del Toro's rise to prominence.
Joao Almeida at the 2026 Vuelta a Espana
Almeida on bad luck
Speaking after the World Championships, the 28-year-old opened up on his bad luck, noting that his training all year has been disrupted significantly.
"I've just had a tremendous amount of bad luck this year. I crashed in the Tour of Poland and then got sick in the run-up to the Vuelta a España . As a result, I haven't been able to train on a decent basis this year," the climber told Cyclingnews.
"It has really been setback after setback this season, making it difficult to work towards a decent level of form. The team has always supported me incredibly well. So I look forward to giving something back for once."
Giro and Tour plans abandoned
His season issues began at the Volta a Catalunya after a promising Vollta ao Algarve and Volta Comunitat Valenciana, after suffering flu-like symptoms that lingered for a significant period, he cancelled both his planned Paris-Nice and Giro appearances.
He did start at the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes but found himself in poor form and din't finish the race. With the Tour already off his schedule, he wouldn't return until the Tour de Pologne as a crash at the race also saw him fail to finish. His Vuelta offered some promise, however, as he took home a third place finish on stage 18's time trial.
Almeida vowed that he will get through the turbulent period as he declared his focus was on returning to winning positions in 2027.
"It is a difficult period, but I will get through this," he declared. "I will do everything I can to get back to my previous level, as I always do. I hope that I can win matches [races, Ed.] again then as well."
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
claps 4visitors 4
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Mathieu and Wout!!! You must start in CX this winter! (hope you reading comments here...) ;-)averagecyclist12-11-2026
- Who made you site boss?Lozza12-11-2026
- This shows so well you’ve never ventured out to a cycling event and checked out spectators.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- I preferred the one about amateur riders and passing (perhaps to explain why he can’t ride at 220 which would probably be more effective to return to shape).Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Not just ManU, far worse in some minority sports ventures.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- From your writing it sounds like you’ve been sharing your views with people here for quite a while, quite presumouptuous for a new profile.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Which is amazing given his weight and size, though, unlike in boxing and some rare instances we haven’t a clue what his fighting weight was. Anybody know why these “public” figures floated around are considered as being accurate?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- That’s a first point, everyone can have an off year or just stagnate before a new upward cycle. What would have been more interesting is including Skjelmose’s performance into the discussion, things have also been expected from him after several performances in the past but he hasn’t really progressed either, his TdF was basically what you would have expected but he’s 26 and been kind of stuck at this level for at least 2-3 years. Maybe he’s a late developer or maybe he needs something to change but as manager I’d be just as demanding and worried about both. Perhaps the recruitment concept was to have enough talent so at least one every year would be in shape and they’ve just been unlucky. Don’t want to rub it in but you could even say Mads lost a notch, so is it the riders or is it more to do with the team?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was also going to say that young pretty women are obsessed Pogi fan girls... who are chasing him. All glossy "____" (blank) about Tadej. PS: You can all fill in the "blank" yourselves, whatever you prefer. The definition of glossy is: It looks unusually shiny, glazed over, watery, or vacant/unfocused.PogiSloFans12-11-2026
- Are you able to discuss ANYTHING without making a reference back to your Special 1? It’s almost as if you’re paid by his marketing team to improve his ranking in search results.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment