João Almeida 'should be ok' to stay in Tour de France after crash
Tadej Pogacar's key domestique lost ten minutes after falling in the finale of stage 7, sustaining a fractured rib and an apparent injury to his left hand. His UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad believe he will be able to start stage 8 to Laval.
João Almeida has expressed optimism that he will be able to continue in the Tour de France despite his heavy crash in the finale of stage 7 to Mûr-de-Bretagne.
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider, who finished fourth overall a year ago, lost more than ten minutes after he came down in a crash with a little over 5km to go. He had a visible injury to his left hand as he rode to the finish.
Almeida is defending champion Tadej Pogacar’s key climbing domestique and he showcased his quality by teeing the Slovenian up for the 100th victory of his career in Rouen on stage 4. Pogacar won again at Mûr-de-Bretagne on Friday to move back into the yellow jersey, though afterwards he expressed concern for his fallen teammate.
Almeida underwent scans in Tour’s mobile x-ray truck near the finish line after completing the stage. He indicated that he had fractured a rib, but he was upbeat about his prospects of starting stage 8 to Laval.
“To be honest the finger [left hand] is the worse. That could be a problem,” Almeida said after the check-up, according to the Guardian. “I have a bit of a fractured rib but should be ok to start in the morning. We take it day by day.”
Shortly afterwards, UAE Team Emirates-XRG issued a statement from team doctor Adrian Rotunno, who indicated Almeida would be able to continue in the race.
“João suffered a heavy fall in the stage finale today. Thankfully there was no serious injury and he was able to finish the stage,” Rotunno said.
“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 was among a number of riders to fall in the crash with 5km to go. Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious) was forced to abandon with his injuries, while Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Enric Mas (Movistar) and Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-Alula) all lost ground after they came down.
In the overall standings, Almeida is now 28th at 12:22.
