João Almeida's nightmare 2026 continues with Tour de Pologne withdrawal ahead of Vuelta a España

João Almeida has abandoned the Tour de Pologne. The Portuguese rider from UAE Team Emirates-XRG will not start stage 5, which takes the peloton from Opole to Kocierz Resort on Friday over 218.9 kilometres. Almeida was caught up in the mass crash during Thursday's stage 4 and is suffering too much from his injuries to continue his race in Poland.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG were without doubt one of the teams hardest hit when things went wrong during stage 4 of the Tour de Pologne. On the wet roads, almost the entire team hit the deck, with Juan Sebastián Molano and Benoît Cosnefroy unable to reach the finish. Almeida did make it to the line, although he finished 16 minutes down and was fifth from last.

After a night's sleep, the decision was made not to send Almeida to the start of stage 5. No fractures were found in the Portuguese climber, nor in Molano or Cosnefroy. "No fractures and all three guys will now head home to rest up for their races to come," UAE said at the start of Stage 5.

For Almeida, the Vuelta a España is in principle still on the programme later this month. The race is supposed to provide a chance to salvage something from what has otherwise been a disastrous 2026. The climber actually began the season strongly, finishing second at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana before taking third place at the Volta ao Algarve.

Illness then forced him to miss Paris-Nice, and although he did line up at the Volta a Catalunya, it quickly became clear that the virus had taken a significant toll on him. Almeida completed the race in Catalunya, but subsequent tests showed that his body needed rest. As a result, the Giro d'Italia was taken off his programme.

Almeida returned to racing at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, but it soon became apparent that he was still a long way from the form required to compete at the Tour de France. His name was therefore also crossed off the list for the Tour. A training block was then supposed to prepare him for the Vuelta, with the Tour de Pologne providing a welcome opportunity to regain some racing rhythm. But things have now gone wrong there as well.