João Almeida: 'My goal at the Tour de France is to help Pogacar win'

João Almeida has declared that his primary objective for the Tour de France will be to support his UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader Tadej Pogačar despite enjoying a remarkable season so far. Personal ambitions are secondary for the Portuguese rider, who is committed to supporting his leader.

"For now, my goal in the Tour will be to help Tadej win. I don't have any result goals in mind, or it will be secondary," Almeida told A Bola.

Almeida has won the general classification in each of the last three races he has started, Itzulia Basque Country, Tour de Romandie, and Tour de Suisse, as well as taking five stage wins along the way. 

Despite being considered by many as a strong contender for the podium this July, which would be an improvement on his fourth place finish from twelve months ago, Almeida remains focused on the collective goal of the team before focusing on personal ambitions.

"I will be more focused on helping Pogačar in the mountains, where he will need me, where I can be more useful to him, and of course, it depends on the race situations where I'll have to protect him and work for him. That's why I don't think it makes sense to have any result in mind. My goal is to help him win the Tour again," Almeida said. "But with that, I can even project myself to win a stage, I might even get a result, but obviously it's very relative."

Almeida also explained that going into the Tour without personal ambitions benefits him, as it takes away the pressure heading into the race.

"I see it as the same. Last year, I went with the goal of helping Tadej. I was relaxed. It is crucial to present myself in the best form and then give everything I can for Tadej in the mountains."

Beyond the Tour, Almeida also has his eyes on a scheduled appearance at the Vuelta a España, where he expects to ride alongside Pogačar once more, but perhaps with more room for personal ambitions.

"In the Vuelta, I'll probably be riding with Tadej again, but it might be a slightly more open race. So, I would say a podium finish would be a significant accomplishment," Almeida said. "So I'd say a podium would be a great result. In a season with already many days of competition and with two Grand Tours coming up, I think a podium would be a great result." 

Almeida also acknowledged the Tour's challenging opening week, which he believes presents plenty of dangers and obstacles to overcome.

"The first week is much flatter than usual. Honestly, it's one of the more challenging parts of the Tour since there's a lot of freshness and activity in the peloton, and the nervousness increases the risks," he noted.

In terms of his current shape, Almeida is happy with his form, but believes there is even more scope to improve before the start of the Tour. "I feel normal. I don't think I'm at my peak form... I feel good, as I have all season, with good legs."