João Almeida was on his way for a fourth strong overall classification at the Giro d'Italia, however Covid-19 has been the ultimate obstacle, putting Almeida out of the race in sight of Verona and after a strong set of performances that had him well within the fight for the podium.
Team DS Mauro Gianetti told VeloNews as soon as the news broke out that “it’s true. It’s COVID. It’s so shit. He wasn’t feeling so well last night and this morning and we did internal tests." The news came as a disaster for UAE Team Emirates who had worked for three weeks towards the general classification ambitions of the Portuguese, who ended up leaving the race whilst in top form.
The news hit the team hard. In a press release they have added the following statement: “We are obviously deeply upset because João and the supporting team were doing an excellent race. Our goals were the podium of the Giro and the white jersey as best young rider and we were fighting to win them both.
"It is bad news, but this is the reality we have been living every day for two years. We have to accept it and look forward. Now the most important thing is that João recovers as soon as possible," the team pointed out as priority.
With Fernando Gaviria not having achieved the ambitioned win in the sprint stages, the team has now been left without anything to show for. Alessandro Covi and Davide Formolo have had free roles throughout the race but didn't manage to get a win, and the white jersey that Almeida had carried for some days has also been lost.
Unfortunately @JooAlmeida98 will not start today's stage of the #Giro following a positive COVID-19 result. “Almeida woke up last night from persistent pain in his throat and the test gave a positive result." 📝 Full details : uaeteamemirates.com/almeida-forced… #WeAreUAE
