Where there is a will there is a way! João Almeida won the 16th stage of the Giro and is now 18 seconds away from the coveted pink jersey. The Portuguese from UAE Emirates crossed the line first at the top of Monte Bondone after beating Britain’s Geraint Thomas (INEOS) in the sprint, who remains leader… for the 24-year-old cyclist from A-dos-Francos .
“I’m super happy, it’s a dream come true. After four years I’ve been so close, now I’ve done it and I’m super happy, I have no words to describe this moment. My team has been fantastic, they have great job as always. It was a very hard day, the hardest one yet. I took a risk and I succeeded, I am very happy and thankful for my teammy family, my girlfriend and everyone who believes in me,” said the Portuguese at the end of today’s stage, already wearing a cap and mask, after all covid-19 is still around and has already claimed victims this year in the platoon.
After 4th place, in 2020, 6th place, in 2021 and a forced withdrawal due to covid-19, João Almeida in 2022, in an interview with DN before the race went on the road, had anticipated the ambition to win the 2023 Giro and lift “the most beautiful trophy” in the world of cycling. Yesterday’s victory ensured that he was calmly on the podium as he wanted, so that from now on he can attack the final victory and make history. Never before has a Portuguese been so close to winning a Grand Tour (Tour, Giro and Vuelta) and it has been 44 years since Joaquim Agostinho reached the Tour podium (1979).
Five stages away from the finish in Rome and after moving up to second overall and being 18 seconds off the lead in the Giro, he left a warning: “If I feel good I will attack, if I don’t do, it’s because I’m not that good. I’ll give everything to the end.” And according to the pink panther (a nickname he earned by wearing the pink leader’s jersey for 15 days in 2020), the penultimate stage of the Tour of Italy will be decisive.
intelligence and stamina
On the 16th stage, the Portuguese driver made it to Thomas at the end of the 203 km between Sabbio Chiese and Monte Bondone, with the two crossing the finish line in 5:53.27 hours. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) was third.
João Almeida showed the intelligence to take advantage of the team’s work and attack six kilometers from the end. A change of pace that only Thomas noticed and managed to endure, but without resisting the sprint of the UAE cyclist. The effort was so great that the Portuguese player forgot the basic rule for winners: to zip up the jersey to cut the goal with the name of the team. A detail for which director Fabrizio Guidi apologized amid praise, assuring that “it can reach a greater dimension”.
Speaking to DN, the cyclist’s manager praised “the way he took the race and took responsibility”. João Correia also assured that João Almeida is “more confident and confident”, confirming that he has “wanted to win a stage of the Giro for a long time”, although the “main goal of the day was to go up overall”.
Pioneer praise
Almeida is the third Portuguese to win stages in the Giro after Rúben Guerreiro (2020) and Acácio da Silva (1985) and the eleventh in history to win a stage in the Tour, Vuelta or Giro. Rui Costa (2011), Sérgio Paulinho (2010), Joaquim Agostinho (five stage wins, between 1969 and 1979), Paulo Ferreira (one, in 1984) and Acácio da Silva (three stages, from 1987 to 1989) won stages from return to France, while João Lourenço (1946), José Sousa Cardoso (1959), Alves Barbosa (1961), Joaquim Agostinho (two stages in 1974 and one in 1976), Sérgio Paulinho (2006) and Nelson Oliveira (2015) won stages in Spain .
Acácio da Silva was the first to win in Italy and did not skimp on praising João Almeida. “It was an excellent stage, with a lot of intelligence. I couldn’t take better advantage of it,” the former cyclist (62 years old), based in Luxembourg, tells Lusa. For the winner of five stages in the Giro between 1985 and 1989, Almeida was “very, very strong, very confident in herself” and that was what it took to win. “The other [Thomas] if you want to win the Giro, you have to work,” explained one of the most renowned players in national cycling, surprised that Primoz Roglic did not respond to the attack.
The Portuguese presented himself in a grand way for the last of the three competition weeks. Today, stage 17 links Pergine Valsugana to Caorle over 197 kilometers, mostly flat, before the mountain returns to test the candidates once again. And João Almeida is one of them. But according to Acácio da Silva, overall victory is “still a long way off”, despite the illusion of 18 seconds.
Giro final standings after 16 stages
1st Geraint Thomas, 67:32.35
2nd João Almeida, 18 seconds away
3rd Primoz Roglic, 29 seconds away
4th Damiano Caruso, 2.50 minutes away
5th Eddie Dunbar, 3:03 minutes
6th Lenard Kamna, 3:20 minutes
7th Bruno Almirail, 3.22 minutes
8th Andreas Leknessund, 3.30 minutes drive
9th Thymen Arensman, 4.09 minutes
10th Laurens de Plus, 4.32 minutes
Source: DN
