Joao Almeida made history, but already thinking about the future

João Almeida landed this Monday in Lisbon, the day after making history at the Tour of Italy, where he became the first Portuguese cyclist to finish on the podium, already with future goals in mind, namely participation in the Tour 2024.

Less than 24 hours after he climbed to the very bottom step of the Corsa Rosa podium in Rome, along with Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), winner, and his “runner-up”, Briton Geraint Thomas (INEOS), Portuguese a cyclist from the Emirates of the UAE arrived at Humberto Delgado airport, where a “crowd” of journalists was waiting for him, in an “audience” that also included several supporters, with and without mustaches, and the President of the Portuguese Cycling Federation, Delmino Pereira.

After a few words about the circumstances upon his arrival, Almeida, apparently still sleepy, was “faced” with a press conference in which he spoke of his Italian adventure and confessed that he had lived a “great Giro”.

“First of all, winning the stage was very important,” said the 24-year-old rider, who also won the 16th Giro race atop Monte Bondone and also brought home the white jersey that distinguishes the best youngster in the return to Italy.

Almeida’s revelations did not end there, who, with his usual brief replies, spoke about the sensations he experienced during the “corsa rosa”, a race in which he was never below fifth place overall, a fact that led him to conclude that “regularity” is his “advantage over opponents”.

“The day I won the stage, I clearly thought there was an opportunity to bring [camisola] pink, but in the next stages, which were very difficult and where the opponents were very strong, I realized that it would be very difficult. I fought to the last centimeter and am very pleased with the result,” he said.

The national long-distance champion assured that in his Giro itinerary “on the whole nothing has changed” because he did “everything he could”, “took responsibility” for the work, “trained hard and was focused on the goal” . “, for your success.

Almeida will now have a rest period and only after that will he set goals for the rest of the season. However, he does not hide the fact that he would like to be at the Glasgow World Cup (August 3-13), representing Portugal, and at the Tour of Spain, scheduled for the period from August 26 to September 17, “to discuss the race.” . “If you can get on the podium, that’s even better,” added the fifth-place finisher in the “big” Spanish competition.

After climbing his first podium, the youngster from A dos Francos makes no secret that he wants more, but asks for “time”, warning that the evolution of a cyclist “takes some time” but promising that he will try to win a great tour.

“I will continue to do my best. If I win, I win. If I don’t win, I won’t win. We will soon have an answer in the coming years,” he concluded.

Almeida’s ambitions now include participation in the 2024 Tour de France, a stated goal that he never tired of repeating and which today made him more frantic than usual: “I think the team allows people to do what they want, I want to If I want to participate in the Tour de France, I will participate in the Tour de France. If I don’t want to do it, I won’t do it.”

For the Giro youth classification winner, proving that he even led for 15 days in 2020, participating in the Tour will allow him to grow as a cyclist, although he is aware that he may have to work for his Slovenian colleague Tadej Pogacar. two-time Grande Boucle champion (2020 and 2021) and runner-up in the latest edition.

“It’s all about the racing situation. Obviously, he is a rider who is a level above me – or two, who knows. It would be my pride and pleasure to work for him, but there are always racing situations where it is advantageous to have two leaders,” he said.

Almeida also explained the story that led to the famous mustache he wore on this tour of Italy, ending on Sunday in Rome.

“When I was preparing for the last three weeks in the Sierra Nevada, I was with my teammates. [da UAE Emirates] and one day we decided to leave only the mustache. We said: “It’s just before the race, then we’ll take it off.” Then I did not take it off, but the mustache remained. […] I see, maybe I’ll come home and trim my mustache,” he concluded between laughter.