João Almeida plans to continue the Tour de France despite the Portuguese rider from UAE Team Emirates-XRG crashing heavily in the seventh stage and sustaining injuries. Tadej Pogacar's super domestique broke a rib and suffered hand injuries, among other things, but the team and rider hope that he will recover after a weekend with two sprint stages. Thomas De Gendt had good and bad news for Almeida on that front.
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De Gendt, who has since retired, remains very active on social media regarding cycling. He regularly shares his opinion via X, and that was no different when the news broke that Almeida wants to continue in the Tour after his heavy crash. According to the team, a broken rib will cause a few "painful days," but they hope that Almeida will ultimately be able to use his excellent legs to help Pogacar.
“I rode sixteen stages in 2015 with two broken ribs,” De Gendt said on Saturday morning. So the Belgian knows what he's talking about when he gives Almeida some advice. “It would be possible to continue, but it was very painful. The fracture itself didn't hurt that much on the bike, but the muscles and tissue around it made it difficult to breathe deeply,” was the not-so-pleasant verdict.
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De Gendt understands why Almeida wants to continue the Tour de France
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In response to a comment from a cycling fan who asked why Almeida was considering continuing, De Gendt replied: "It's the Tour. That would be the only race I would ride with fractures or injuries. As long as I was still safe on the bike, I would continue. My crash happened in stage 5, and in stage 7, I was pulling the peloton for André Greipel. That way, I could continue doing my job." Almeida will now only be used as a domestique, as he lost ten minutes on day 7 due to his crash.
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
It’s the Tour. That would be the only race i did with fractures or injuries. As long as i was still safe on the bike, i continued. My crash happened on stage 5 and on stage 7 i was pulling the peloton for Greipel. So i could still do my job.