After a disastrous opening day at the 2025 Tour de Suisse saw him lose more than three minutes, Joao Almeida looked completely out of the fight for the general classification. Although still just over two minutes back after a solo win on stage 4, the momentum is suddenly back on the side of the Portuguese star.
Almeida was able to gain exactly a minute back on race leader Romain Gregoire - before bonus seconds - thanks to his stage 4 solo and a result, the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader has pulled back to 7th place on the GC, 2:07 down on the Frenchman in the Maillot Jaune with four stages still to go. In other words, Almeida is still very much in the fight for the win.
"It was a hard effort, really good teamwork, and it's nice to finish it off," Almeida reflected to the media moments after his stage win success in Switzerland. "There's still a long way to go, a lot of time to get back, but I'm happy with the stage win and we will go and enjoy this one."
When it was proposed to Almeida that he is now the favourite for the race however, the Portuguese wasn't quite so firm. "I have to disagree [on being the favourite now], because for me, it's up to me to take time back and it's going to be a super hard task, but we never give up," he concludes. "Well, I need to try; if I don't try, we will never know."
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🇵🇹 VITÓRIA DE JOÃO ALMEIDA! 🔥
— Portuguese Cycling Magazine (@PCMPTMag) June 18, 2025
O ciclista português venceu isolado a 4ª etapa da Volta à Suíça e recuperou 1 minuto da desvantagem que tinha para a camisola amarela.
Faltam 2 minutos para chegar à liderança. Nós acreditamos, João! 💪🏼 #TourdeSuissepic.twitter.com/rgVgBiSmq1
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.
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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