João Almeida ends Dauphiné comeback ahead of tough mountain stages

UAE Team Emirates-XRG confirmed on Saturday morning that the Portuguese rider would leave the race and return home, where he will continue preparing for his main objectives later in the season.

“After six days of hard racing, João Almeida will not start stage 7 of the Tour Auvergne Rhône Alpes,” the team said. “The Portuguese rider will head home and continue working towards his goals later in the campaign.”

Almeida had been competing for the first time since the Volta a Catalunya in March. He was originally due to target the Giro d’Italia, but illness and concerning blood test results forced him to abandon those plans and take a two month break from competition.

The 27-year-old entered the French stage race without expectations of challenging for the general classification. Instead, the event was intended to provide valuable racing kilometres as he rebuilds his condition.

After six stages, Almeida sat 126th overall, 1 hour, 9 minutes and 38 seconds behind race leader Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). In Friday’s first true mountain stage, he finished 102nd, crossing the line 22 minutes and 43 seconds behind stage winner Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

Those results underlined that Almeida remains some way below his usual level, although the Portuguese rider had noticed signs of improvement as the week progressed.

“It’s been hard racing,” he said before stage 4. “As expected coming back, I knew my shape was not good at all compared to what I’m used to, but it’s part of the process. I’ve been feeling better every day.”

However, after six days of racing, Almeida and UAE Team Emirates-XRG have decided that he will not continue into the high mountains, instead shifting his focus to the remainder of the season.

Speaking to O Jogo ahead of the Dauphiné, Almeida outlined his plans for the second half of the year.

“My calendar for the second part of the season, at least for now and from what I know, will stay exactly the same,” he said. “That will be San Sebastián, Burgos and the Vuelta a España. I don’t know whether I will do any extra races besides those. After that, obviously, I will also do the World Championships.”