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João Almeida (cyclist)

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João Almeida
Almeida following the 2024 Tour de France
Personal information
Full nameJoão Pedro Gonçalves Almeida
NicknameA Pantera (The Panther)
Born (1998-08-05) 5 August 1998 (age 26)
A dos Francos - Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight63 kg (139 lb)
Team information
Current teamUAE Team Emirates
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Rider typeClimber
Amateur teams
2013Ecosprint–BTT Caldas
2014CC José Maria Nicolau
2015Sicasal–Liberty Seguros–Bombarralense
2016CC Bairrada
Professional teams
2017Unieuro Trevigiani–Hemus 1896
2018–2019Hagens Berman Axeon[1][2]
2020–2021Deceuninck–Quick-Step[3]
2022–UAE Team Emirates[4]
Major wins
Grand Tours
Giro d'Italia
Young rider classification (2023)
1 individual stage (2023)

Stage races

Tour de Pologne (2021)
Tour de Luxembourg (2021)

One-day races and Classics

National Road Race Championships (2022)
National Time Trial Championships (2021, 2023)

João Pedro Gonçalves Almeida (pronounced [ʒuˈɐ̃w alˈmɐjðɐ]; born 5 August 1998) is a Portuguese professional cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam UAE Team Emirates.[5]

Career

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2019

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In August 2019, Almeida, then riding for Hagens Berman Axeon, signed a 2-year contract with World Tour team Deceuninck–Quick-Step.[6]

Deceuninck–Quick-Step (2020-2021)

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2020

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After a 2nd place finish in the Giro dell'Emilia, Almeida was named in the start list for the 2020 Giro d'Italia, his first ever participation in a Grand Tour.[7] He wore the Giro's pink leader's jersey for 15 consecutive days, from stage 4 to stage 18, the longest ever by an under-23 rider. He eventually finished 4th overall in the general classification, the highest ever placing by a Portuguese rider.

2021

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Almeida at the 2021 Giro d'Italia

After a series of top-10 finishes in winter and early-spring stage races, Almeida's contract with Deceuninck–Quick-Step was set to expire by the end of the year.[8] Despite this, Almeida was again featured in the start list for the 2021 Giro d'Italia. After supporting Remco Evenepoel in the first 2 weeks, Almeida ended up finishing in the top-10 in the last 6 stages, placing 6th overall in the general classification.

In June, Almeida became Portuguese Time Trial Champion as an Elite rider. He later participated in the UEC European Road Championships and the Olympics.

In August, Almeida signed a 5-year contract with UAE Team Emirates to begin in 2022.[9] Shortly after, he achieved his first stage-race general classification victories, in the Tour de Pologne and Tour de Luxembourg, also winning 3 stages and both the youth rider and points classification in the latter.

In the Autumn, Almeida finished 47th in the UCI Road World Championships Elite Road Race;[10] 2nd in Giro dell'Emilia, losing to Primož Roglič by 3 seconds; and 3rd in Milano–Torino.

UAE Team Emirates (2022–)

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2022

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Almeida wearing the Maglia bianca at the 2023 Giro d'Italia

Almeida was in 4th place in the general classification at the Giro d'Italia when he was forced to abandon the race after stage 17 due to a positive test for COVID-19.[11]

In June, Almeida won the Portuguese National Road Race Championships, and placed 3rd in the Time Trial.[12] In September, he placed 5th overall in the Vuelta a España.

2023

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Almeida placed 3rd overall in the Giro d'Italia, becoming the first Portuguese rider to reach the podium in a grand tour since Joaquim Agostinho's 3rd place finish in the 1979 Tour de France.[13] Almeida also secured a victory in stage 16 and placed 1st in the young rider classification. For the second time, Almeida won the Portuguese National Time Trial Championships. In September, he placed 9th overall in the Vuelta a España.

2024

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Almeida rode in the 2024 Tour de France in service of the general classification winner Tadej Pogačar, placing 4th overall and trailing 3rd place Remco Evenepoel by just under 10 minutes.[14] He entered the 2024 Vuelta a España as Team UAE Emirates' main GC threat but was forced to withdraw before the start of stage 9 after contracting COVID-19,[15] his second grand tour withdrawal due to the virus.

Major results

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2015
2nd Time trial, National Junior Road Championships
2016
National Junior Road Championships
1st Road race
1st Time trial
2017
3rd Time trial, National Under-23 Road Championships
4th Overall Toscana-Terra di Ciclismo
1st Stage 2
4th Overall Tour of Ankara
8th Overall Tour of Mersin
1st Stage 3
9th Overall Tour of Ukraine
1st Young rider classification
1st Stage 4
2018
1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège Espoirs
National Under-23 Road Championships
2nd Road race
2nd Time trial
2nd Overall Giro Ciclistico d'Italia
1st Young rider classification
5th Overall Ronde de l'Isard
1st Young rider classification
7th Overall Tour de l'Avenir
2019
National Under-23 Road Championships
1st Road race
1st Time trial
4th Overall Tour of Utah
1st Young rider classification
2020
2nd Giro dell'Emilia
3rd Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
1st Stage 1b (TTT)
3rd Overall Vuelta a Burgos
4th Overall Giro d'Italia
Held & after Stages 3–17
7th Overall Tour de l'Ain
1st Young rider classification
9th Overall Volta ao Algarve
2021 (6 pro wins)
1st Time trial, National Road Championships
1st Overall Tour de Pologne
1st Sprints classification
1st Stages 2 & 4
1st Overall Tour de Luxembourg
1st Points classification
1st Young rider classification
1st Stage 1
2nd Giro dell'Emilia
3rd Overall UAE Tour
3rd Milano–Torino
6th Overall Giro d'Italia
6th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
7th Overall Volta a Catalunya
1st Young rider classification
10th Time trial, UEC European Road Championships
2022 (3)
National Road Championships
1st Road race
3rd Time trial
2nd Overall Vuelta a Burgos
1st Stage 5
3rd Overall Volta a Catalunya
1st Stage 4
5th Overall Vuelta a España
5th Overall UAE Tour
8th Overall Paris–Nice
1st Young rider classification
Giro d'Italia
Held after Stages 14–17
Combativity award Stage 9
2023 (2)
1st Time trial, National Road Championships
2nd Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
1st Young rider classification
2nd Overall Tour de Pologne
3rd Overall Giro d'Italia
1st Young rider classification
1st Stage 16
Combativity award Stage 16
3rd Overall Volta a Catalunya
6th Overall Volta ao Algarve
9th Overall Vuelta a España
9th Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana
2024 (2)
1st Stage 3 (TTT) Paris–Nice
2nd Overall Tour de Suisse
1st Stages 6 & 8 (ITT)
4th Overall Tour de France
9th Overall Volta a Catalunya

General classification results timeline

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Grand Tour general classification results
Grand Tour 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Giro d'Italia 4 6 DNF 3
Tour de France 4
Vuelta a España 5 9 DNF
Major stage race general classification results
Race 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Paris–Nice 8 11
Tirreno–Adriatico 6 2
Volta a Catalunya NH 7 3 3 9
Tour of the Basque Country
Tour de Romandie
Critérium du Dauphiné
Tour de Suisse NH 2

Major championships results timeline

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Event 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Olympic Games Road race NH 13 Not held
Time trial 16
World Championships Road race 47 60 DNF
Time trial DNS 23
European Championships Road race 14
Time trial 10
National Championships Road race 20 1 14
Time trial 1 3 1
Legend
Did not compete
DNF Did not finish
DNS Did not start
NH Not Held

References

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  1. ^ "UCI approves Axeon Pro Continental status". Cyclingnews.com. Immediate Media Company. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018. The team has announced eight riders so far for the 2018 roster, including João Almeida from Portugal, William Barta from the US, U23 time trial world champion Mikkel Bjerg from Denmark, Cole Davis from the US, Zeke Mostov from the US, Jasper Philipsen from Belgium, Thomas Revard from the US and Maikel Zijlaard from the Netherlands.
  2. ^ "Almeida João". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  3. ^ Ryan, Barry (31 December 2019). "2020 Team Preview: Deceuninck-QuickStep". Cyclingnews.com. Future plc. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Joao Almeida signs five-year deal at UAE Team Emirates". Cyclingnews. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  5. ^ "João ALMEIDA". UCI. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  6. ^ team, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl. "João Almeida steps up to the World Tour with Deceuninck – Quick-Step | Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl team". www.quickstep-alphavinylteam.com. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  7. ^ "103rd Giro d'Italia: Startlist". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Sam Bennett and Joao Almeida to leave Deceuninck-QuickStep after 2021 - 'I don't have as much money'". Eurosport. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  9. ^ August 2021, Cyclingnews 06 (6 August 2021). "Joao Almeida signs five-year deal at UAE Team Emirates". cyclingnews.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "UCI 2021 Road World Championships Final Results / Résultat final". Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  11. ^ team (23 January 2023). "João Almeida: I've got unfinished business with the Giro d'Italia". www.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  12. ^ "JOÃO ALMEIDA BECOMES NEW PORTUGUESE NATIONAL CHAMPION". cycling up to date. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Giro d'Italia ticker: Almeida relishes career-best third on GC, Lefevere blasts mountain TT". 28 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Official classifications of Tour de France 2024 - Stage 21". www.letour.fr. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  15. ^ Alasdair Fotheringham (2024-08-25). "João Almeida abandons the Vuelta a España with COVID-19". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
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