Almeida pays the price for the Vuelta and skipped the time trial: "Honestly, I didn’t prepare well for the European Championships"

The Tour of Spain was very tough for Almeida. After finishing second behind Jonas Vingegaard, he skipped the World Championships. “Mentally, it was a bit tough,” Almeida told A Bola. “To be honest, I didn't prepare well for the European Championships. I believe we need to show a little respect for our mentality and think long-term. I'm not at my best, but I'm going to give it my all.”

After a long season, the battery is empty. “I haven't trained for a few days, I've completely stalled. I stayed in Portugal and resumed training on the roads in my region. But when it came to starting the engine, it wouldn't start. The last few times since the Vuelta have been a bit of a back-and-forth race. But luckily, the season is coming to an end.”

“I don't expect to feel good, but I hope I'm wrong,” he said before the start of the time trial. “The competition is at a very high level; all the best European time trialists are participating. And after exploring the course today (Tuesday, ed.), I don't think it will be my thing. Honestly, it's much less challenging than I thought. It will also be very windy, which is not good either, as I am lighter than the experts.”

The title ultimately went to Remco Evenepoel, who outclassed Filippo Ganna and secured the gold, relegating him to silver. Almeida was not there: he fell ill. And that, while things were already mediocre before that. “I hope my engine will be fully open tomorrow and that I will experience new feelings from then on,” he said on Tuesday. “We also have a few days to train a little.”

The Portuguese rider hopes to be there on Sunday. “It's tough, with constant ups and downs, three longer climbs at the start and then a leg-breaking course that will take its toll,” he says of the road race in the Ardèche. It's more than 200 kilometers so that it will be tough. We'll see how it develops."

The competition will be fierce. Of course, Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel will be there, but riders such as Jonas Vingegaard, Mads Pedersen, and Juan Ayuso will also be present. “There will be many top riders, and the tactics may differ per rider, causing the peloton to split into small groups that will only come together again at the finish.”

But Almeida also thinks the race may break open and be decided very, very early on. Just look at the World Championships... "With the long-distance attacks we've seen – typical of modern cycling – and after what we saw again this weekend at the World Championships in Rwanda, we could even see Remco attack before Pogacar," he predicts.

But there are plenty of other contenders, which promise to make it a fantastic European Championship. "There may also be other riders who try to anticipate him, because they know they can't keep up with these two. And let's not forget Vingegaard, who will also be there. So I think it will be a fascinating race to watch."