"Very excited to start the season... I hope to aim for a big result" - João Almeida leads UAE Team Emirates - XRG at Volta a Comunitat Valenciana 2025
Cycling
The 2025 road season is underway across the world and with every race that passes, another big-name rider gets their campaign underway. Leading UAE Team Emirates - XRG at the upcoming Volta a Comunitat Valenciana (5-9 February), is the Portuguese GC hopeful, João Almeida.
“I’m very excited to start the season. It has been a good winter and I feel like the condition is good and where it needs to be," the former GC winner at the Tour de Pologne and the Tour de Luxembourg says in a press release on the UAE Team Emirates - XRG official website. "It’s not so often we get to start with a team time-trial but with the strength of the team we have I think we can be confident to put in a good performance."
As is often the case with the all-star UAE Team Emirates - XRG, Almeida leads a multi-faceted lineup and as such, won't be their one and only hope of success in Spain. "We’ll have several cards to play, for sure I hope to aim for a big result," the Portuguese says determinedly though. "Brandon McNulty won this race last year and seems to always fly at this time of year so it’s good to have options for the GC. The most important will be the search for victories as a collective.”
"We started the year with many victories which we are obviously very pleased with, but also the attitude and attacking mentality the team has showed in the first races has been fantastic and something we are proud of," adds Sports Manager Joxean Matxin. "We won here last year with Brandon McNulty and we will aim to defend that title this year."
"We have the unusual prospect of the TTT to open the race and we have selected a team very focussed on that stage. No doubt our rivals will be preparing for it also, so we need to be on our best level which I’m confident we will be," Matxin concludes. "The Valencia region has had a devastating few months and I know a lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes to make this race happen and we hope we can put on a good show for the people there.”
UAE Team Emirates - XRG for Volta a Comunitat Valenciana 2025
Joao Almeida
Brandon McNulty
Filippo Baroncini
Felix Grossschartner
Julius Johansen
Ivo Oliveira
Pavel Sivakov
Brandon McNulty
Filippo Baroncini
Felix Grossschartner
Julius Johansen
Ivo Oliveira
Pavel Sivakov
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment