Almeida was left stranded without UAE teammates after Vingegaard’s attack: ‘No one was really there.’
Almeida missed the move and had to chase with Pidcock on his wheel. (Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Updated August 31, 2025 01:32PM
VALDEZCARAY, Spain (Velo) — João Almeida rued a missed chance and Giulio Ciccone admitted a costly miscalculation after both came up short in Sunday’s explosive stage 9 at the Vuelta a España.
Almeida salvaged third place on the sodden summit at Valdezcaray, but the Portuguese contender left the finish shaking his head at what might have been.
The UAE Emirates-XRG star missed the winning acceleration from Jonas Vingegaard and was forced to chase with Tom Pidcock, who took far fewer pulls and pipped him in the sprint for second.
“They had a factor of surprise and we were not expecting it. I was in a good position and they went really hard,” Almeida said. “In the end, I could not close the gap.”
Almeida said he expected he could have stayed with Vingegaard, but was caught out when Visma-Lease a Bike, led by a perfect setup from Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss, gapped everyone out.
“It was not so steep, so I think I could go with him. We’ll never know,” Almeida said.
‘I missed my teammates today’
Pidcock rode Almeida’s wheel much of the climb and then pipped him for second place. (Photo: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Even more worrying for Almeida was that none of his UAE Emirates-XRG teammates were anywhere to be seen.
That fact is even more troubling considering that the relatively moderate climb to Valdezcaray is nothing compared to the giants looming in northern Spain.
“I could see they were on their limit, so they couldn’t do much,” Almeida said. “I missed a bit of my teammates today, no one was really there. It is what it is.”
Almeida remains the top GC threat to Vingegaard, but he gave up some valuable seconds to the Dane.
That frustration poured out when Almeida yelled at fellow chaser Pidcock to “grow some balls” midway up the climb.
Ciccone: ‘Jonas was too fast for me’
Ciccone tried to follow Vingegaard but later regretted it. (Photo: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
For Ciccone, the regrets were more painful.
The Italian was the only rider to initially follow Vingegaard’s brutal acceleration, but the Lidl-Trek climber paid dearly for the gamble.
His legs cracked halfway up the climb, and he faded to seventh at 1:46. He also slipped two places to sixth overall.
“He just went too fast for me,” Ciccone said at the line. “I did my best and it was too fast and maybe it was a mistake to follow him, maybe it was better to pace more at the bottom.”
Ciccone had started the day quietly confident and Lidl-Trek put its men on the front to chase down the five-rider breakaway going into the final climb.
“The feeling was good and I was confident to try for this stage. I tried this, sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s less,” the Italian said.
Lidl-Trek is still hunting for its first stage win of this Vuelta, and after Mads Pedersen missed a few chances in the sprints, Ciccone hopes to have another day before this Vuelta is over.
“Jonas was super strong and for sure we try again,” Ciccone said.