‘He doesn’t pull a lot, right?’ – Almeida’s cheeky jab at Vingegaard after attacking in the Vuelta

João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) illustrated he has recovered well from the injuries that saw him abandon the Tour de France in July.

The Portuguese rider attacked on the summit finish of Stage 7 at the Vuelta a España in Cerler, while his teammate Juan Ayuso won the stage from the breakaway, bouncing back from losing significant time in the general classification the previous day.

Almeida launched his attack from the GC group after a strong pull from teammate Marc Soler, with Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) the only riders to follow. However, the move faded due to a lack of cooperation with a group of riders returning and Almeida finishing safely inside the main GC group 2:35 behind his teammate and stage winner Ayuso.

"I asked Marc to pull a bit, to try, but I thought the climb would be a little bit harder, to be honest, but yeah, it is what it is," Almeida said to reporters after finishing 2:35 behind Ayuso with the main GC contenders. "I tried, maybe there was a gap for somebody, but yeah, they also didn't want to cooperate in the end, but yeah, one less day.”

When asked if he was surprised by Vingegaard’s reluctance to work with him, Almeida acknowledged that the Dane didn’t have to, but also gave a candid assessment of his riding style.

"I mean, he didn't really have to, so I get it, but yeah, it is what it is. I think he doesn't really pull a lot of times, right?" Almeida said with a laugh.

Despite not gaining any time on the stage, Almeida expressed confidence in his current shape with the many mountain stages remaining in this Vuelta, as he moved up to 3rd in the GC, 2:41 behind race leader Torstein Træen (Bahrain-Victorious) and 8 seconds behind Vingegaard.

"I've been feeling good every day, so I think it's a good sign. But yeah, looking forward for the next hard ones," he said.

The Portuguese rider was also full of praise for teammate Ayuso after his stage victory, and this is UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s third consecutive stage win after the team time trial and Jay Vine’s success on Thursday. 

"He's a great rider. Super class, and he's super strong, so yeah, he deserves it, and it's been ups and downs for him," Almeida said. "You know, it's a hard road, so I think he deserves it, and congrats to him. And also, for the whole team, they were pretty amazing today.”