{"id":651856,"date":"2026-06-22T08:20:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T08:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/651856\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T08:20:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T08:20:20","slug":"i-want-to-improve-on-last-years-second-place-joao-almeida-optimistic-on-his-vuelta-chances-despite-a-difficult-season-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/651856\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI want to improve on last year\u2019s second place\u201d: Joao Almeida optimistic on his Vuelta chances despite a difficult season so far"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\u201cWe found many abnormalities in my blood tests,\u201d Almeida explained<\/a>. \u201cThe team carried out several examinations, but we never fully understood what was happening. At first, I tried to continue training to see how the situation evolved, but in the end I had to stop. That\u2019s how it went.\u201d<\/p>\n

His results in France reflected the lack of racing and training. Almeida sat well down the general classification and lost so much time on the first mountain stage before UAE Team Emirates-XRG announced that he would leave the race early to continue his preparation at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hard, as expected for my return. I knew my physical condition was not at its best. But the good thing is that I feel good on the bike now. I\u2019m only missing condition. I feel that I\u2019m recovering well day after day and that\u2019s a very positive sign.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old admitted there had been clear indications that something was wrong before the diagnosis was made. \u201cFor several days I felt well below my normal level. I couldn\u2019t reach my usual numbers and I realised something wasn\u2019t right. Fortunately, we eventually identified the problem and followed the appropriate treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Almeida\u2019s name was rumoured as a possible option for the Tour de France after missing the Giro d\u2019Italia, his withdrawal from the Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes appears to have reduced those chances. Before Almeida left the race, UAE Team Emirates-XRG general manager Mauro Gianetti had already indicated that the Portuguese rider was not expected to be ready for July.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatxin will decide who participates in the Tour. The team is practically selected. The only uncertainty could be Almeida. He has not recovered well from a virus, so we do not expect to see him in July. His recovery is the first priority. The rest of the team is in good shape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vuelta remains the clear objective<\/p>\n

Instead, Almeida expects to follow the schedule originally planned before his illness. \u201cThe calendar for the second part of my season should remain the same as we originally planned. So San Sebasti\u00e1n, Burgos and the Vuelta. I will also take part in the World Championships,\u201d Almeida said.<\/p>\n

Despite the setbacks of recent months, he remains optimistic about the future. \u201cThe most important thing was to feel good again. Now I feel that I\u2019m on the right path and I hope to return to my best level as soon as possible. My form is not at its best yet. I need more training and better preparation. Overall, I feel good. I look to the future with confidence and I\u2019m already thinking about the big objectives. I rode a pretty good team time trial, so in the end I was very satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having finished second at last year\u2019s Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, Almeida is setting his sights even higher for 2026. \u201cYes, winning the Vuelta is the objective and I think it is possible. I would like to improve on last year\u2019s second place. Finishing third or in the top five no longer gives me satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cWe found many abnormalities in my blood tests,\u201d Almeida explained. \u201cThe team carried out several examinations, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":651857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,20995,56668,101,209408,56,54,55,20998],"class_list":["post-651856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-giro-ditalia","tag-joao-almeida","tag-sports","tag-tour-auvergne-rhone-alpes","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-vuelta-a-espana"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=651856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/651856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/651857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=651856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=651856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=651856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}