Almeida: “If everyone had fully worked together, we might still have caught Evenepoel”

Tiberi was the last rider able to follow Evenepoel when the pace lifted on the decisive climb. “When we started the final climb, Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe set a really strong tempo. It was clear they were going to attack and I was in a good position, so I tried to follow when Remco went,” the Italian explained.

“I could stay with him for two or three hundred metres, but he kept pushing hard and then I couldn’t follow anymore,” said Tiberi. “Behind me, gaps opened too. I tried to stay ahead for a bit, but in the end the others came back and we rode it to the finish.”

“At one point we got it back to ten seconds and we said to each other: come on, we have to try. But then suddenly it went back out to twenty or thirty seconds. Remco was fast — really fast.”

Almeida had been viewed as Evenepoel’s main rival beforehand, but he also had to let go when the Belgian accelerated. “From the start the pace was high and we did our best, but Remco was better,” Almeida said. “If it had been a longer climb, it probably would have suited me more. But it is what it is: things went well and we did a good job.”

“If everyone had fully worked together, we might still have caught Remco,” the Portuguese rider added. “There’s always hope when you’re in a small group, but against the world time trial champion it’s always going to be difficult. Antonio saved himself a little bit, but that’s cycling.”

The Tour of Valencia concludes on Sunday with a short stage featuring two climbs. Tiberi now sits fourth overall, four seconds behind third-placed Giulio Pellizzari, while Almeida holds second in the general classification.

va