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.
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leedorney02-10-2026 - this is so early in january. let him ride in his home country.mij02-10-2026
- I’ve always thought crit racing is perfect for TV. so is cross actually. winters watching cross is so funmij02-10-2026
- People complain when he wins, and people complain when a surprise winner wins the WC - you can't please some people.wrsty02-10-2026
- Why would Jorgenson want to be off the UAE blacklist? Mattie should rather compain that UAE was too cheap with the ink. Demand they use a larger font lest they forget where hell is coming from!JM02-10-2026
- If you're referring to the female WC then that's correct but also this article is about the Male WCwrsty02-10-2026
- The most Ironic part is Pogi would completely abhor pogislofansjad2902-10-2026
- After Quebec, I compared how Remco looked there versus the Tour and he was significantly bigger. Obviously Tour climbing shape is not what is needed for the classics, but the difference was too much. From then on I wasn't optimistic going into GP de Montréal and the Worlds. I was quite sure that he'd smoke the TT but with the climby stuff no. In contrast, Mathieu van der Poel looked thinner than he does normally. All in all, Remco didn't put everything into the road race for fear of losing the time trial. But with the margin he won by, he could very well have cut down on sone of the weight
Rafionain-Glas01-10-2026 - Hindsight really. Van der Poel didn't lose because he was caught, he lost because he let McNulty goRafionain-Glas01-10-2026
- Very sad. My sympathies to his family and friendsAndy12301-10-2026
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