João Almeida will not take part in the Giro d'Italia, it was revealed on Monday morning, after suffering from illness in the build-up.

After it was reported in the Portuguese press on Sunday, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider posted the news on Instagram on Monday. He was one of the top favourites for the race, alongside Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).

Later on Monday morning, it was also revealed that Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) would also not start, due to a small pelvic fracture.

"Unfortunately I won’t be at the start of the Giro d’Italia next month as planned," Almeida wrote.

"Sickness in the past months has affected my preparations too much and has meant I just won’t quite be ready in time which is a shame as it’s a race I love so much.

"After talking it through with the team we decided it was best to take a rest period and switch focus to new goals later in the season."

"We haven’t set out those new goals yet but that will be done calmly in the next few weeks…" he continued. "For now it’s time to first rest-up a bit and build things back up slowly.

"Best of luck to the guys for the Giro, will be cheering from home."

Almeida finished second at the Vuelta a España behind Vingegaard last season, after winning three WorldTour stage races. 2026 began well, with podiums overall at the Volta Comunitat Valenciana and the Volta ao Algarve.

However, 38th at the Volta a Catalunya hinted at bigger problems, and Almeida suggested he would undergo tests to figure out the problem. "I just need to rest a bit and maybe see what’s wrong with me," he said then.

In his stead, UAE will likely line-up with Jay Vine and Adam Yates as leaders at the Giro, two riders with Grand Tour stage wins and podiums in their lockers.

In a press release from Soudal Quick-Step, Landa said: "I am obviously disappointed, as I had worked hard to come back from a difficult winter and was starting to feel good again in Itzulia. I had been experiencing some discomfort, but the type of fracture made it difficult to fully identify at first. Now that we have clarity, I can focus fully on my recovery.

"It’s a shame to miss the Giro d’Italia, especially as I was motivated to return after last year. But the priority now is to get healthy again and rebuild my condition, and then we will look ahead to new goals later in the season."

The Tour de Suisse, one of the key warm-up races for the Tour de France, has announced a major overhaul, aimed at becoming sustainable.

Perhaps the biggest change will see the men's event reduced from eight to five days. However, the women's and men's WorldTour races will now be held at the same time (the women usually race in the preceding week to the men).

In addition, the women's race will be boosted from four to the same five stages as the men – and, crucially, they will all start and finish in the same place.

Both events will be held from June 17-21, 2026.

The aim was parity between men and women, as well as "financial robustness" and greater visibility, said Hans-Peter Zurbrügg, chairman of TDS organiser Cycling Unlimited.

Race organisers say this will mean a better deal for both fans and the media trying to tell the story of the race.

Tour director Oliver Senn said in a statement: “Without a new concept, the future of the Tour de Suisse as a cultural asset and brand would be at risk in the medium term. We are deliberately focusing on a model that places even greater emphasis on women’s cycling."

He added: "The strong interest from TV viewers, roadside fans, and digital communities confirm: cycling is booming – and the Tour de Suisse enjoys a deep bond with the Swiss public."

The men's edition of the Tour de Suisse has been running since 1933 – that's 15 years longer than the more popular Critérium du Dauphiné – and is regarded as one of the biggest non-Grand Tour stage races of the year. The women's race was held once in 2001 before starting up again in 2021.

Its illustrious honours list includes some of cycling's biggest names – Eddy Merckx, Sean Kelly, Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas on the men's side; Lizzie Deignan and Demi Vollering on the women's.

This year's women's race saw home rider Marlen Reusser (Movistar) lead from start to finish after breaking away with Vollering on stage one and defending a slender lead all the way to the final day, which she won solo.

In the men's race this year, Joāo Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) slowly hopped his way up the GC as the race got lumpier and more mountainous, finally grabbing the lead and the overall win on the final stage mountain time trial, which he won decisively.

A typically unrelenting second week in the Vuelta a España 2025 has seen the general classification crystallise as the favourites come to the fore and the hopefuls fall by the wayside.

There have been surprises though, including the way UAE Team Emirates-XRG continues to keep pulling winning card after winning card out of the deck, despite controversy over their team spirit.

And then there is Tom Pidcock's continued success in the general classification, with the Yorkshireman remaining on course for a Grand Tour best-ever.

In terms of the parcours, the Alto de L'Angliru was the stand out moment of the week, forcing everyone to dig deep as they pit man and machine against terrain. Impressive moments.

Let's take a look back over what we've seen in the Vuelta a España week two.

1. Jonas Vingegaard is not running away with this race

Jonas Vingegaard goes into the rest day with a 48-second cushion over next best rider Joāo Almeida. As far as cushions go, it is not the most comfortable. Think tatty bar stool rather than plush lounge armchair.

There's no doubt he would have preferred the plushness of, say, a two-minute gap, especially with the Portuguese rider looking as dangerous as he does.

After Vingegaard's PB-busting performances in the Tour de France, where he professed to have seen some of his best numbers and stood head and shoulders ahead of everyone in the race bar Tadej Pogačar, it might have been easy to assume that the Visma-Lease a Bike rider would walk the Vuelta a España.

But Almeida of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, who has won three week-long stage races this year, is clearly on fine form and determined to push him till the end.

With an extremely tough week ahead that includes three summit finishes, two high mountain stages and a time trial, that 48-seconds could disappear rapidly down the plughole of one bad day. The GC still hangs in the balance.

2. The Angliru is still tough – but so are the riders

Much of the talk last week was of the fearsome Alto de L'Angiru on stage 13 – one of the toughest climbs not just in this race but in the entire repertoire of pro cycling. There's no doubt that its ultra-steep slopes, which surpass 20% in places and feature a six-kilometre section that averages between 10 and 16%, inspire fear in those tasked with racing up it.

And just in case the riders had forgotten what a 10%-plus slope looked like, the Angliru was preceded on the stage in short order by a pair of category-one climbs that featured plenty of them.

But for all the talk, the day itself was a thrilling masterclass in the power and grace of the professional bike rider (as well as the importance of choosing the right gear ratios).

The GC riders, led by Joāo Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) seized the climb by the scruff of the neck and powered from bottom to top without missing a beat.

It was clearly extremely hard going, but the panache with which it was ridden, not just by the top riders but pretty much all comers, reduced it to something far more palatable.

As someone who remembers riders crawling up steep climbs, zig-zagging across the road on corn-cob blocks, this modern taming of the terrain takes a touch of the spectacle away from it.

Nevertheless, it's an impressive watch.

3. Mads Pedersen's wait for a stage win is over

A classification leader's jersey is all about consistency rather than highs and lows. On occasion, for example, a rider will win a Grand Tour without actually winning a stage. It's never the preferred way, but the raison d'être of a GC rider is to win overall – everything else is secondary.

The raison d'être of the sprinter, on the other hand, is to cross the line first. That's why Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) was sporting an expression of almost pathological relief when he won stage 15 to Monforte de Lemos on Sunday.

Barring incident, the green points jersey looks as though it will almost certainly be his on Sunday in Madrid – he currently leads second-placed Jonas Vingegaard by 98 points – but that all-important stage win had so far eluded him.

He came close in Ceres with second on stage three, losing out to David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), and he was fifth on the hilly stage 12, unable to bring back breakaway pair Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) and Javier Romo (Movistar).

Pedersen is not a pure sprinter. One of his strengths is his ability on lumpier, classics-style terrain. But all the same, he will now consider his green jersey campaign complete with the addition of a stage victory.

4. Tom Pidcock's GC campaign shows no sign of faltering

As the race closed out at Monforte de Lemos on Sunday evening, Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) was still there in third place on GC, a useful (though far from decisive) 32 seconds ahead of fourth placed Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

This is uncharted territory for the Yorkshire rider. Never before this race has he ventured higher than fifth place on the overall, and that was for a single day in week one of the 2022 Tour de France.

This is very different. He's been ensconced in third place on the Vuelta for five days now, having spent the previous two days in fourth.

Week three does, of course, have a way of finding a rider out, as the distance and the mountains take their toll.

But the 26-year-old continues to look solid. If he can take this all the way to Madrid it will be a career high for him.

5. UAE Team Emirates-XRG appears to be an unstoppable juggernaut

When Juan Ayuso appeared to fall apart in week one, losing more than 10 minutes on GC on stage six to Andorra, it seemed as though one key weapon in the UAE Team Emirates-XRG armoury had been comprehensively decommissioned – at least for this race.

Their other GC contender, Joāo Almeida, may have remained, but the team looked severely weakened. (Ayuso's tirade against his employer in week two over his early contract termination didn't seem as though it would help either, but that's another story).

But few would have predicted that the team would continue to thrive, only appearing to become stronger and stronger as its riders inspired each to greater feats.

The situation as it stands, is that UAE Team Emirates has won seven of 15 stages. What makes this even more impressive is that this isn't down to one stand-out individual. Rather, these wins have been taken by four separate riders – Jay Vine (stages 6, 10) Ayuso (stages 7, 12), Almeida (stage 13), and Marc Soler (stage 14). Plus of course there is the cherry on the cake – their team time trial win.

The only question for UAE Team Emirates-XRG right now is who will win next.

João Almeida won atop the Alto de L'Angliru on stage 13 of the Vuelta a España as Jonas Vingegaard hung onto the red jersey.

Almeida won UAE Team Emirates-XRG's sixth stage win of this Vuelta atop the legendary Asturian climb, taking seconds on his main rival, Vingeggard of Visma-Lease a Bike.

The Portuguese rider stormed to victory from seemingly the bottom of the climb; while he was unable to shake Vingegaard from his wheel, the Dane could never come round.

The climb, 12.4km at 9.7%, rarely disappoints, and the race split apart, although there was not a knockout blow for one rider over another. It was also a very fast day, with the 202.7km, with 3,958m of climbing, completed at 41.3km/h.

The lead pair gained time on the other general classification rivals, with Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) moving up, and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) and Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) among those losing out. However, Pidcock remains on the overall podium.

Vingegaard leads the race by 46 seconds from Almeida, with Pidcock 2:18 behind the leader. Hindley is now in fourth, 42 seconds behind Pidcock, with Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) 15 seconds further back. Pellizzari and Matthew Riccitello (Israel-Premier Tech) both moved up the top 10 despite losing time to some of those above them on GC.

"This is a special one. I still don’t believe it," Almeida said on TV post-stage. "Thanks to my teammates, they were key today. They did an amazing stage. I just put my pace from the bottom, and I just did the best I could.

"Jonas was always on my wheel, the last kilometre I was on the limit, I guess we were both on the limit. I was waiting for his attack any time. I thought he was going to pass me at the finish line, I knew it quite well from two years ago and I took the first corner first and then it’s hard to pass. It was an amazing day. I think it’s the hardest climb in the world, it’s crazy. Oof, I’m very sore."

Asked if this gave him confidence in aiming for the win, Almeida said: "I have a lot of time to make up to Jonas, he’s looking phenomenal, it’s going to be hard, but we’ll never give up."

The early part of the day was dominated by a large break, which featured Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), as the Dane continued for hunt for intermediate sprint points, which he duly did.

The last remnants of that break, Bob Jungels (Ineos Grenadiers), Nicolas Vinokourov (XDS Astana) and Jefferson Cepada (Movistar), were all caught halfway up the Angliru, after they had been briefly held up by a protest.

While Vingegaard remains in red, and the top three remain the same overall, with four mountain top stages to come, including one tomorrow, there remains a lot up for grabs at this Vuelta. The battle for red seems tight between Vingegaard and Almeida, while that for the podium and the top fives counts a few more among it.

Almeida's victory was also the 79th for UAE this season, as the team approaches the record for most wins in a year; currently held by Columbia-HTC with 85 in 2009.

Results

Vuelta a España 2025 stage 13: Cabezón de la Sal > L'Angliru (202.7km)

1. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 4:54:15
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, at same time
3. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +28s
4. Sepp Kuss (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +30s
5. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +52s
6. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +1:22
7. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +1:16
8. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, at same time
9. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +2:15
10. Abel Balderstone (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, +3:06

Vuelta a España 2025 general classification after stage 11

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 49:30:54
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +46s
3. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +2:18
4. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +3:00
5. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +3:15
6. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4:01
7. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Israel-Premier Tech, +4:33
8. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +4:54
9. Torstein Træen (Nor) Bahrain Victorious, +5:21
10. Sepp Kuss (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +5:26

What the Vuelta a España might lack in Grand Tour status it is surely making up for in difficulty this year, ensuring that this three weeks is no late-season phone-in for riders looking to tune up for the Road World Championships.

What amounts to very nearly the first half of the race has thrown up some fine days of racing as the breakaways attempt to capitalise on the hilly stages and the sprinters go all-out where they can. Even the GC race, slow-burning at first, has yielded its first surprises and big battles.

Let's take a look at some of what we've learned so far in this first nine days.

Tom Pidcock really is going for the GC

Tom Pidcock's announcement that he would be riding for the general classification at this year's Vuelta was met with a certain degree of dubiousness. After all, we had seen and heard this before at the Tour de France, where things didn't exactly pan out as intended.

But that was a different time, and a different team. Pidcock certainly seems happier since he left Ineos Grenadiers for Q36.5 Pro Cycling and the effect of that was perhaps what we saw in his riding on Sunday's ninth stage to Valdezcaray.

Up until then Pidcock had stayed quiet, chipping away with top 10s and top 20s on the days that mattered. But on stage nine he came out to play. Despite losing 24 seconds to stage winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) in the final count-up, Pidcock, together with Joāo Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) dropped the rest of the GC contenders to the tune of 38 seconds.

The 26-year-old ended the stage fourth on GC, and while there is a huge amount of hard riding still to do in this race, he had issued a major statement and climbed to the highest position he has ever known in a Grand Tour.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG looking good – but is 'good' enough?

According to the form book, the most concerted attempt to upset favourite Jonas Vingegaard's victory plans was going to come from UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

UAE's two-pronged attack started out with a pair of riders that have both been knocking on the door of a Grand Tour victory for a few years now in the form of Joāo Almeida and home rider Juan Ayuso.

As we now know, it is unlikely to be Ayuso's race – a bad day saw him finish nearly 12 minutes down on stage six to Pal. Andorra. While he bounced back to win the following day's stage to Cerler. Huesca La Magia, his performances over the weekend saw him finish well down on both days and surrender further GC placings.

Almeida on the other hand has ridden a solid race, shadowing Vingegaard everywhere he needed shadowing – until yesterday, when he lost 24 seconds.

He is now 38 seconds in arrears on GC to the Dane, and still within shouting distance with a lot of very tough racing left.

Vingegaard looks the strongest – so far

Coming into the Vuelta, few were in disagreement: Jonas Vingegaard was, and remains, the outright favourite to win on GC.

Yes, he lost the Tour de France to Tadej Pogačar. But Tadej Pogačar is not here, and when it comes to Grand Tour riding, few can hold a candle to the Pogačar-Vingegaard duality anyway.

Vingegaard had even professed to have seen his best ever power figures at the Tour, which won't have filled his Vuelta rivals with confidence.

However, the Dane built his season around the Tour, not the Vuelta, and while such details are unlikely to be unveiled until after the race, his numbers in Spain could easily be down on those from the Tour.

However, so far Vingegaard has been solid throughout, and based on his performance – and his team's – at Valdezcaray though, the Dane still appears to be the strongest rider in the race, and with the strongest riders around him.

That is, at least for now. This Vuelta is one of the hardest Grand Tours we've ever seen, and there is so much hard racing still to come. Can he keep it up all the way to Madrid?

Points but no wins yet for Pedersen

The make-up of the stages in this first week have been a good gauge of what the Vuelta looks like overall – that is, mountains-heavy.

The sprinters present are going to need to take any and every chance presented to them, and there are not going to be many.

Jasper Philipsen has so far proven to be the best at this, with his stage one victory rewarded with the bonus of the red leader's jersey, and netting a second stage win at the weekend on stage eight.

Despite being arguably more versatile, Philipsen's sprint rival Mads Pedersen has so far not managed this feat, although he came close with a second place at Ceres.

Instead the Dane's strategy has centred on intermediate sprints, of which he has won two and featured in the points in four.

But with the breakaways often hoovering up all the available points, and Ethan Vernon (IPT), who is second in the points classification, chasing hard behind (and sometimes prevailing), this is not the most surefire way to build out his lead. It is, however, the best option he's got for most of this very hilly race.

Hello, Giulio Pellizzari

The young Italian is repaying the faith that the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team put in him when they signed him on a three year contract at the end of last year.

His lead in the young rider classification has not wavered since he took it from Juan Ayuso on stage six (or, perhaps, when Ayuso handed it to him with an emphatic capitulation).

The 21-year-old climber has led USA's Matthew Riccitello (IPT) by 27 seconds since that fateful Andorra stage and has finished in the top 20 on all the hard mountain stages so far. He currently sits 10th overall.

Already this year he has finished sixth overall at the Giro d'Italia, where he was also second in the young rider competition.

It will be interesting to see how he develops over the next two seasons – but first he has to get through what is likely to be one of the hardest Grand Tours he'll ever ride.

After seven stages of this year's Tour de France, 3:43 separated the top 10 overall; there were 54 seconds between first and second, and Tadej Pogačar, the eventual winner, was leading already.

After seven stages of this year's Vuelta a España, there might be 2:58 between Torstein Træen (Bahrain Victorious) in first and Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) in 10th, but between the riders thought to be favourites for general classification, there is just 30 seconds.

Between Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) in second place, 2:33 behind Træen and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) in 11th, there is 30 seconds, with João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) in their midst.

Obviously, you could argue its a quirk of the stages ridden so far; at this year's Giro d'Italia, just 39 seconds separated the top 10 after seven days, but there hadn't been many hard GC days yet.

At this Vuelta, there have already been three summit finishes, including two category-one endings, so why has the race not blown apart?

It is vanishingly simple, really, although not much succour for the fan screaming at the TV hoping for something to happen already – this race is very hard. There have been three stages with over 3,000m of climbing, but there are eight more to come, and six summit finishes.

The reason for the GC stalemate so far is that there is so much more to come, including both L'Angliru, and the Bola de Mundo on the penultimate stage. There is more than enough time to make a difference, 14 more stages, in fact.

Putting in a lot of work this early in the race might lead to burnout close to the end, especially for a rider like Vingegaard, who has already been through an entire tough Tour this summer.

"It was a decent day in total," the Dane explained on TV post-stage. "It was not easy. We wanted to save our energy a bit, so we decided not to do anything today. It was a hard last climb, but the team did well.

"If we wanted we could have fought for the win, but we wanted to save the team, we saved it for the second and third week because there it will be hard enough. We decided not to do it today."

The one attack from a GC rider on Friday came from Almeida, who after work from his teammate Marc Soler, put in a dig on the final climb. He took Vingegaard and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) with him, but after a lack of collaboration, they were pegged back by their rivals.

"I saw that they didn’t really want to go for a hard finish." Almeida said post-stage. "I asked Marc to pull a bit to try, but I thought the climb would be harder to be honest. But it is what it is, I tried. Maybe there was an opportunity for somebody, but they also didn’t want to cooperate in the end. But yeah, one less day.

"I’ve been feeling better every day, so I think it’s a good sign. I’m looking forward to the next hard ones."

"Jonas didn’t really have to [attack], so I get it, it is what it is, but I think he doesn’t really pull a lot of the time," the Portuguese rider joked, pointedly.

In the end, Træen retained the red jersey, comfortably. While he is not thought as a threat to the overall across three weeks, the longer the stalemate goes on, the more he'll warm to his role as race leader. There are a lot of hard stages to come, however, starting with Sunday's category-one summit finish. It never ends at this Vuelta.

João Almeida “should be able” to start Saturday’s eighth stage of the Tour de France, UAE Team Emirates-XRG have said, after he crashed hard on stage seven in Mûr-de-Bretagne and fractured a rib.

It was a bittersweet day for the squad, who won the hilltop finish and reclaimed the yellow jersey through Tadej Pogačar, but were left worried about the condition of Almeida, after he returned to the team bus in a car – rather than descending by bike like the rest of the peloton.

Dishevelled, the Portuguese rider then waded through the fans, his skinsuit unzipped and torn at the elbow.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG later confirmed he had suffered a rib fracture, but “thankfully there was no serious injury”.

A statement from the team doctor, Adrian Rotunno, read: “After clinical examination, we immediately took him for relevant radiological investigations. It’s confirmed he has an uncomplicated left-sided rib fracture, as well as some profound abrasions to his body. Fortunately no concussion.

“We will be monitoring him carefully going forward. The next few days will be difficult for him, but at this point, he should be able to start tomorrow’s stage.”

Almeida’s crash came on a descent with around 6km to go of the finishing circuit in Mûr-de-Bretagne, and also saw Bahrain Victorious’s Jack Haig and Santiago Buitrago fall hard on the asphalt. Rather than springing back to his feet, The UAE rider initially sat stunned in the grass verge at the side of the road, before remounting and riding to the finish line.

At the team bus located 2km down the climb, his team manager, Mauro Gianetti, awaited Almeida's arrival. “The only plan that wasn’t good in the tactics was João’s crash. We just hope it wasn’t such a bad crash because it was very fast,” he said.

When the 26-year-old finally returned, he did so in the backseat of the car of his sports director, Matxin Fernández, who said the crash was “really disappointing”.

“[He’s been] working a lot – altitude training camp, days outside of the house, sacrifice, nutrition, all made perfect. Then with 6km to the final, it’s the situation,” Fernández said.

“He has a little hole here,” the sports director continued, pointing to his elbow, but fortunately “after moving the hands, moving the arms, there’s no problem in the clavicle [collarbone].”

“Now he’ll take a shower, and then after maybe to the X-ray. He has pain in this area [his ribs],” Fernández said. “And the finger is really [painful].”

Almeida came into this year's Tour as a podium contender, having won the Tour de Suisse, Tour de Romandie and Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year.

Asked if he can still challenge in the overall standings, Fernández replied frankly: “[He lost] minimum 10 minutes... In that situation, it’s more important not to think about the podium, but think in recovery.”

Dressed in the rainbow bands, and aboard a golden bike, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) barrelled to victory in the closing time trial at the Tour de Romandie on Sunday.

The six-day Swiss race was won overall by João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who finished runner-up on the final day, 12 seconds adrift of the world and Olympic champion, but fast enough to overhaul a three-second deficit on the general classification.

With his effort, the Portuguese rider leapfrogged the previous race leader Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) in the overall standings, claiming the yellow jersey by a comfortable 26 seconds. The victory brought Almeida's second stage race win of the season, following his triumph at Itzulia Basque Country last month.

Evenepoel's victory marked his first against the clock since he defended his world title in Switzerland last September.

The Belgian’s winning time around the 17.1km course in Geneva on Sunday was 20 minutes and 33 seconds - an average speed of close to 50km/h.

"I think I did an almost perfect time trial. I gave it my all today," he said post-race.

The 25-year-old finished fifth overall, having surrendered his GC hopes to support his team-mate Junior Lecerf.

"I came to this race in quite hot-and-cold form, so I didn't have too big ambitions," Evenepoel said. "My biggest focus was on today's stage. Yesterday, I wanted to just push myself to the limit, and push the bar higher. I think I did my best today with another good time trial.

"Now I'm going to take a week off to recover from the Classics and this week in Romandie. I can take this break with a calmer head [thanks to the victory]. It also gives me motivation for what's to come."

Despite entering the race as the overall favourite, Evenepoel never really joined the GC battle in Switzerland.

The leader’s jersey at the Tour de Romandie was worn by four different riders before the final day. After Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) blasted to victory in the opening prologue time trial, another British winner took the spotlight on stage one in Matthew Brennan, who earned his sixth victory of the season, and the yellow jersey.

Victories then followed for Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) and Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) on stages two and three, with the race lead guarded by EF Education-EasyPost’s Alex Baudin.

On stage four, a shoot-out between Martinez and Almeida fell in the favour of the former, the Frenchman also heading up the GC into the final day, with only a two-second lead over Fortunato and three over Almeida. The Portuguese rider ended up beating Martinez by almost 30 seconds against the clock.

"I feel very happy," Almeida said, after overhauling the GC. "What counts is the last day... To be honest, I was struggling a little bit the whole week. I was never feeling 100% or very strong, but I gave my best and never gave up.

"Sometimes it's about your mindset and your mind, and the team were by my side to support me."

Martinez hung on to claim second overall, ahead of Vine, Almeida's team-mate, in third.

Dominance appears to be a buzzword of modern day cycling, particularly with regards to the current season as it unfolds. If it’s not Tadej Pogačar’s dominance at Strade Bianche or the Giro d’Italia, it’s Mathieu van der Poel’s dominance of the Spring Classics that we’re all talking about. 

But in relation to Pogačar and his UAE Emirates team, the dominance and superiority that we’ve already witnessed could imminently be elevated to new heights by the end of July. 

Winning a Grand Tour by almost ten minutes, as Pogačar did at the Giro in May, was something previously only associated with sepia-toned photographs of the likes of Fausto Coppi, Eddy Merckx and other greats, until the Slovenian phenom brought that concept crashing back into the present day this year. 

Although that feat, as impressive as it is, could soon be bumped to one side if UAE Emirates achieve what is seemingly a very real possibility for the state-owned squad, a clean sweep of the Tour de France podium this summer.

Pogačar recently confirmed his full list of teammates for the Tour and said that Adam Yates will be his right hand man as he looks to land a third overall victory in the yellow jersey. Yates and João Almeida are both in the squad alongside an array of other fearsome talent. 

Since then, both riders underlined their own credentials and proved that they are equally bang in form with a stunning display of dominance at the Tour de Suisse. Four stage wins for the group and Yates taking the overall title will have reverberated through the WorldTour peloton.  

Not only is Pogačar the best male rider in the world on current form, he’s heading to the Grand Départ with two teammates by his side who are equally capable of causing utter mayhem in the high mountains once the race gets underway. 

As well as being present beside their leader when the gradients begin to bite in the mountains, both riders have the form and talent to ride themselves onto the final podium in Nice alongside Pogačar. 

Clean sweeps of a Grand Tour podium are nothing new. Visma-Lease a Bike managed to achieve just that at the Vuelta a España last year with Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard and Primož Roglič taking first, second and third respectively. 

But it has not been achieved at the Tour de France, the biggest of the three, since 1928. Bernard Hinault, Greg Lemond and the iconic La Vie Claire team came close in 1986, although Andy Hampsten’s fourth-place finish meant the team just missed out on achieving the clean sweep. 

A handful of teams have managed to get two riders on the Tour podium in Paris in the last ten years. UAE did just that last year with Pogačar and Yates completing the podium behind Vingegaard as he took his second win. However, the Dane’s form and fitness coming into this year’s Tour has meant that the odds have increased of a UAE 1, 2, 3 this time out. 

Vingegaard’s horrific injuries sustained in a high-speed crash at Itzulia Basque Country in April have been well documented. Primož Roglič, now of Bora-Hansgrohe, also came down in the fall, as did Remco Evenepoel. Since getting back on his bike, Vingegaard is yet to race and has been focusing on training, most recently in Tignes, as he prepares for an expected Tour return. 

Evenepoel was in contention at the recent Critérium du Dauphiné before Roglič eventually took the win. All three are expected to challenge Pogačar in July, but there is uncertainty as to how they will fare once the race gets underway, particularly the Dane if he is indeed selected. 

With question marks surrounding his rival's fitness, UAE Emirates and Pogačar could look to take control of the race from the word go as they did last year in Bilbao. 

The two hilly opening stages finishing in Rimini and Bologna could see Pogačar on the offensive, looking to land an early blow before the yellow jersey title fight has even reached the fifth round.

UAE’s strength in depth and the form of the team’s key men means that they are already streets ahead. Get ready for a whole new level of dominance this July. 

Just as UAE Team Emirates riders were settling into their hotels ahead of Paris-Nice starting on Sunday, their teammate, Tadej Pogačar, was hundreds of miles away putting in an attacking masterclass on the white gravel roads of Strade Bianche. 

Many were left speechless at Pogačar’s daring 81 kilometre solo raid which resulted in a second victory at the Italian Classic for the Slovenian. 

One man who wasn’t totally surprised at Pogačar’s exploits was Jayco-AIUla’s Michael Matthews. The Australian has trained regularly with Pogačar near their base in the south of France. 

Matthews told Cycling Weekly in Les Mureaux that after he had ridden with the Slovenian recently it was clear he was going to hit the ground running in 2024. 

"I think the whole cycling world was watching yesterday," Matthews said. "It was just a phenomenal performance. He did exactly what he said he was going to do. 

"He said he was going to attack from that section from 80 kilometres to go and he just annihilated the peloton."

"We haven't trained together for the last few weeks as I've been away," he added. "But yeah, before that it was a lot and you could see that everything was going in a good way for him that's for sure."

UAE Team Emirates DS Marco Marcato was glued to the television as he watched Pogačar’s attack unfold in the rain on the Monte Sante Marie gravel sector. 

The Italian told Cycling Weekly that Pogačar continues to surprise his coaches with his performances on a yearly basis. 

Marcato said: "It was just amazing to see and actually because he also declared before the start 'I'm going to attack on Monte Sante Marie' and then he did it. 

"When you see the kilometres to the finish, 80 km, it was just huge and it's really a lot but Tadej is Tadej and he did it. 

"Of course we are speaking about real talent and he's making the history of the new cycling, modern cycling. 

"Actually every year we think okay, maybe he is at the limit but he always surprises us and he can just do better every time."

Marcato explained that he is constantly impressed with the two time Tour de France winner’s dedication to the sport and improvement in training. 

"He is a great, really good guy and it is a real pleasure to work with him," he added. "But at the same time he is also really professional and focused on what he's doing. He just shows the champion that he is all the time."

Pogačar is set to make his Giro d’Italia debut in May before making a return to the Tour de France two months later. 

Portugal’s João Almeida is set to line up alongside the Slovenian at the Tour for UAE Emirates as well as the likes of Adam Yates, Juan Ayuso, Marc Soler and Pavel Sivakov. 

Ahead of stage one of Paris-Nice, Almeida explained that he couldn’t pull himself away from watching the action unfold in Italy on Saturday. 

"I was watching the whole afternoon,” he said. “It was such an impressive effort. He can still surprise us all the time so it's so impressive. He is a pleasure to race with."

João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) put in an impressive late attack on the slopes of Monte Bondone to win stage 16 of the Giro d’Italia.

The Portuguese climber launched a move with 5km to go to the line as the gradients of the final climb began to bite. Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) was the only other general classification favourite that was able to follow, the Welshman reclaimed the pink jersey of the race leader in the process.

Both riders put time into Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) in the fight for overall victory.

After his teammate, Jay Vine, had shredded the remnants of the group of favourites, Almeida took over and soon made his move, dancing away up Monte Bondone. Sensing an opportunity, Thomas would soon follow in pursuit and looked to be the stronger of the two as the summit approached.

As they reached the final few hundred metres, Almeida had the upper hand and dispatched the Welshman in a two-up sprint for the line. Roglič finished third, losing 25 seconds on the brutal mountain stage that featured over 5,000 metres of elevation gain.

The Slovenian was able to snatch four bonus seconds with third place ahead of Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-AIUla) who impressed with fourth.

Thomas now leads Almeida by 18 seconds with Roglič in third 29 seconds back.

Speaking to the media after the stage, 24-year-old Almeida said it was a “dream come true” to finally have secured a stage win at the Giro.

“I’m super happy… after four years I was always so close but so far at the same time and finally I got it,” Almeida said. “So yeah, I’m super super happy and don’t have the words to describe it.”

The Portuguese climber, who leads the best young riders classification, heaped praise on his teammates who had worked to set him up earlier on the climb. Davide Formolo and Vine were instrumental in the victory, both putting in huge turns to put the other favourites under pressure.

“My teammates were amazing, they did a really good job like always and I tried to give it a go in the end,” he added. “It was a super hard day, always up and down, for the legs it was super hard. I would say it was the hardest so far, but I was feeling good.”

On paper, attacking with more than five kilometres to go appeared to be a bold move. However, Almeida explained that he had faith in his legs and knew he had the ability to see it through to the end.

“I took a risk to go for it, if you don’t try then you never know,” he said. “I tried and I managed to achieve it so I’m very very happy and so thankful to my team, to my family, my girlfriend and everyone that supports me and believes in me. It’s very special for me.”

Almeida’s late move caused a huge stir amongst the overall favourites in the first general classification shake up at this year’s Giro. Despite being tracked by Geraint Thomas in the closing stages, Almeida said he had taken heart from his performance and vowed to try again in the fight for pink in the mountain stages still to come.

“Yeah, like I’ve always said, I’ll always try to go for more. If I feel good, I’ll always attack,” Almeida added. “I’ll always fight until the end and always give everything that I have.” 

RESULTS GIRO D'ITALIA STAGE 16: SABBIO CHIESE - MONTE BONDONE (203 KM)

1. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, in 05-53-27
2. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Ineos Grenadiers, at same time
3. Primož Roglič (Slo) Jumbo-Visma, at 25s
4. Edward Dunbar (Ire) jayco-AIUla, at same time
5. Sepp Kuss (Usa) Jumbo-Visma, at 01-03
6. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, at 01-16
7. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious,
8. Einer Augusto Rubio Reyes (Col) Movistar,
9. Laurens De Plus (Bel) Ineos Grenadiers,
10. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers, all at same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 16

1. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Ineos Grenadiers, in 67-32-35
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, at 18s
3. Primož Roglič (Slo) Jumbo-Visma, at 29s
4. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain Victorious, at 02-50
5. Edward Dunbar (Ire) Jayco-AIUla, at 03-03
6. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 03-20
7. Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 03-22
8. Andreas Leknessund (Nor) DSM, at 03-30
9. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers, at 04-09
10. Laurens De Plus (Bel) Ineos Grenadiers, at 04-32

João Almeida expects the final day time trial of the Giro d'Italia to prove decisive, with the UAE Team Emirates rider recognising he needs to expend his energy smartly over the last week of racing. 

Sitting third overall and just 30 seconds back from Giro GC standings leader Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), Almeida indicated the difficulty of the remaining stages means he has to ride with each day in mind. Stage 16, 17 and 20  of the 2022 Giro d'Italia route are all gruelling mountain stages which could shake up the GC, and the Portuguese isn't planning on losing time with misjudged efforts ahead of the final day TT. 

“It’s a long week so if you spend all the bullets on Tuesday it’s still a hard week,” Almeida told VeloNews during the rest day on Monday. 

“If I feel good [I'll attack], but maybe not on Tuesday. Because there are some really hard days still coming up, especially the day before the TT. I think that’s going to be the real queen stage Saturday. If I feel good, of course, I’m going to try something but always keep in mind the next days.”

Ahead of the 17.4km time trial around Verona on Sunday, Almeida seems confident in his ability to steal some crucial seconds. Arguing he is one of the strongest time trialists of the GC contenders, Almeida also suggests there won't necessarily be a large time difference between riders, meaning it is crucial he gives himself the best opportunity by racing optimally over the next few days. 

“It’s quite a specialty time trial, not like a flat city one where it’s more simple,” he said. 

“I think the gaps are not going to be that big like they normally are. I think maybe 30 seconds maximum. Of course, I really need I need to have the legs and feel good. It’s a bit relative sometimes.

“There were a lot of corners in the first time trial, and all those corners in a city can be quite dangerous. So, I lost some time. But if we check the data of the straights and the climb, I think I’ll be maybe one of the top guys, but the corners were there.”

Regardless, the 23-year-old isn't placing too much pressure on himself to take the maglia rosa. Having finished fourth and sixth overall at the Giro in 2020 and 2021, respectively, Almeida suggests simply securing a top-three finish would be a success.

“A podium spot would be like a victory for me," Almeida explained.

“I think I’m in the perfect position. I’m 30 seconds from Richard Carapaz. Things have been pretty good. We go to this final week to try to not lose any time, keeping up with the best riders and seeing what we can do."

João Almeida sprinted to victory from a select group of three atop a snowy Boí Taüll to take stage four of the Volta a Catalunya.

The UAE Team Emirates rider beat Nairo Quintana (Arkéa Samsic) and Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe) to take the seventh win of his career.

On the final climb Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citröen) slipped off the back of the leading group and lost control of the general classification as a result. Quintana now leads the race heading into the fifth day, but is tied on time with Almeida.

Quintana has the lead because added together, his stage results accumulate to a number smaller than Almeida's total. It was the second time the pair have contested a snowy finish in as many weeks, after they finished fourth and fifth on the Col de Turini on stage seven of Paris-Nice.

This time, the Portugese rider was able to take victory on the mountain, possibly taking the biggest win of his career in the process, and his first for UAE Team Emirates.

How it happened

A second mountainous day in a row was on the menu, as the riders at the Volta a Catalunya remained in the Pyrenees. 

It took a long time for the day's break to be established, with multiple solo attacks being quickly extinguished by a peloton mindful that there were big tests to come.

At last, with 135km to go, almost an hour into the day, four riders moved off the front: Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), Juan Pedro López (Trek-Segafredo), and Jesús Herrada (Cofidis).

9km later, Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) joined the quartet to make it five, and they established a lead of 2:10. Then two more riders were added to the growing break on the Coll de Boixols, Mark Donovan (Team DSM) and Mikel Bizkarra (Euskaltel-Euskadi).

The points he claimed on the Port de la Creu de Perves saw Bizkarra move into the virtual lead of the King of the Mountain's jersey, taking it from fellow Basque Ander Okamika (Burgos-BH).

On the final climb of the day, Boí Taüll, which tops out at 2049m above sea level, Donovan and Armirail went alone. They had 28s on the remains of the break, and 1:07 on bunch.

With 13km to go, Armirail was alone with 35s on the peloton, which seemed like far too little to hold off the general classification hopefuls.

The race leader, Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citröen), was the first of the overall contenders to make a move. He went with 11.8km, but was quickly followed by Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe), Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) and George Bennett (UAE Team Emirates). The four were caught 500m later, but the peloton had been thinned out, with very few riders left in the main bunch.

Bennett almost immediately went once again, and joined Armirail, who was still alone up the road, with 9.1km to go. The duo held a gap of about 20s to the chasers, which was quickly reduced. At this point, Ineos Grenadiers were visibly pulling in the peloton.

Bennett was alone for a while, but was then caught with 4km to go. Carapaz then attacked with 3.1km to go, and his fellow South American Higuita reacted first, but this was snuffed out with 2km until the finish. 

O'Connor, despite looking good lower down the climb, was dropped with 1.6km until the line, which saw the end of his lead in the general classification.

Heading into the final 1500m, Nairo Quintana (Arkéa Samsic), Carapaz, Higuita and João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) moved off the front. The four looked set to contest the win, but Carapaz could not cope with the pace.

Into the final corner, Quintana looked in pole position, as Higuita was boxed out, but Almeida put down the power on the loose gravel at the top of the mountain to take the victory.

As a result of bonus seconds, Almeida and Quintana were drawn exactly on time, leaving the race lead to be decided by the sum of their stage results: Almeida on 114, but Quintana on 47 to leave him in the leader's jersey for tomorrow.

Results

Volta a Catalunya 2022, stage four: La Seu d'Urgell to Boí Taüll (166.7km)

1. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, in 4-20-27
2. Nairo Quintana (Col) Arkéa Samsic
3. Sergio Higuita (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe, in same time
4. Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain-Victorious, at 7s
5. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X, at 13s
6. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE Team Emirates
7. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers
8. Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
9. Carlos Rodríguez (Esp) Ineos Grenadiers
10. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis, all at same time

General classification after stage four

1. Nairo Quintana (Col) Arkéa Samsic, in 17-04-53
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, at same time
3. Sergio Higuita (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 6s
4. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE Team Emirates, at 17s
5. Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain-Victorious
6. Ben O'Connor (Aus) AG2R Citröen, all three at same time
7. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X, at 23s
8. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis, at same time
9. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers, at 26s
10. Torstein Træen (Nor) Uno-X, at 34s

At almost any other point in cycling history, a 23 year old who had finished 4th and 6th in his first two grand tours would be seized upon as the next prodigy.

João Almeida must therefore feel unfortunate to be born into the era of Tadej Pogačar and Egan Bernal, where those feats seem a lot more normal.

The Portugese rider has moved to Pogačar's team, UAE-Team Emirates, with the hope of triumphing at the Giro d'Italia at his third attempt. With the full backing of his new outfit, he feels like this is possible.

Speaking to the media at his team's press day during their training camp, Almeida made it clear what his 2022 aim will be.

"The Giro is going to be my main goal," he said. "All the races and preparation will have a focus on the Giro. Hopefully, I will be in my best shape here. I will always give everything, to help the team as well. We are going to give everything we have."

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Almeida has only been a professional rider for two years, but his consecutive top-six finishes at the Giro mark him out as one to watch. UAE rate him so highly that they have given him a contract until 2026, which is of the same length as two-time grand tour winner Egan Bernal's is with Ineos Grenadiers.

"The team has shown a lot of confidence in me," he explained. "I'm still young, so having a team like this show that they trust me. Of course, every team goes there with the goal to win, but only one guy can win. 

"The only thing I can promise is that I'm going to work really hard to be in my best shape, and do all the sacrifices and everything I can do, so we can go there and be as close as possible to the goal."

In the past two editions of the Giro, the young Portuguese rider has benefited from superior performances in the time trials, and so he will have to switch his focus with the 2022 route featuring only 26km of individual time trialling.

"It's not a Giro with a lot of time trialling kilometres," Almeida said. "I think more TTs would be ideal for me, but it is what it is. 

"In the end, there’s a lot of climbing, but overall in the Grand Tours, the main decisions are made on the climbs. In the time trials, there are one or two spots difference, so you can improve your position, but overall it’s the climbs that make the biggest difference. Being a Giro like this we will focus more on climbing and maybe less on the TT."

Changing teams is a bigger deal than some imagine; indeed Almeida pointed out that he has "basically changed everything" in his move from Deceuninck-Quick Step to UAE-Team Emirates. Changes include a new bike, new groupset - Campagnolo - to get used to, and a new training plan. However, he said that the overhaul had been a positive experience, adding "overall things have gone really well".

His new coach is Iñigo San Millán, who also looks after Pogačar, and while he noted that "training is quite a personal thing", he said that his plans have been changed.

"The training plan is different to the one I was used to with my old coach at Deceuninck-QuickStep. So far it has been really good, we have been discussing the training. I've been improving... and I feel good with this training. We will keep watching this and see how I react."

In August last year Almeida triumphed overall for the first time, winning the Tour of Poland before also winning the Tour de Luxembourg. He admitted that one thing that he needed to improve on was his decision making during races. 

"I've made a few mistakes," he said. "Sometimes, I would attack for no reason at all, so maybe I should be more conservative sometimes. But other times maybe I needed to attack more.

"You can never be too smart or too intelligent. Of course, being able to read the race better, to understand the opponents. Race after race with experience I think things comes naturally. So far I’ve been doing good but there’s always a lot to learn and to improve so we are here for that as well."

At the 2020 Giro Almeida spent 15 days in the pink jersey until stage 18, where he came a cropper on the Stelvio. In 2021, his race was interrupted by the work he was forced to do for his then teammate Remco Evenepoel, but he fought back into the top ten in the final week.

Almeida will be expected to work for Pogačar at some races, potentially the Vuelta a España this year, but he said that racing in support of his decorated team mate would be a "pleasure".

"I feel very good with this," Almeida said. "It will be a pleasure to race with Tadej. He’s one of the best cyclists ever - not just for the present. Being able to race with him, learn from him, be part of his team, and help him reach good results and win race, it makes me feel good to be a part of it and it gives me motivation for the future."

He is also enjoying being at a team with a more direct GC focus than Quick Step had. "I'm still quite young, so I can always learn with all these guys. Some of them have much more experience than I have. It's nice to have all those people, I can learn a lot with them, and have fun with them too. I'm excited."

Whatever happens, it is guaranteed that Almeida will be one to watch at the Giro, and few would bet against him being a contender now he has a team fully behind him.