Sick Almeida forced to surrender against superior Vingegaard: "I was on the limit all day"

Sunday, 14 September 2025 at 09:00

Follow IDL Pro Cycling on Google

Stay up to date with the best cycling news by making us a preferred source on Google.

He tried, but in the end, João Almeida couldn't match the power of Jonas Vingegaard. The Dane from Visma | Lease a Bike secured the overall victory with a win at Bola del Mundo: the Portuguese rider from UAE Team Emirates - XRG is left empty-handed. That's not surprising, as his flash interview after the finish proved.

UAE Team Emirates - XRG took the lead throughout the race, and after being launched by mountain king Jay Vine, it was up to Almeida. He set a fast pace in his own style, but it wasn't enough to drop Vingegaard. “It was tough,” Almeida sighed at the top of the grueling final climb. “I was already at my limit for the entire ride, but we had to try. We had nothing to lose.”

Vingegaard was able to keep up with the Portuguese rider's pace, and when Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) took the lead, it became clear that the Dane would take the overall victory. Almeida was unable to keep up with his acceleration, partly due to his physical condition, as it turned out.

Read on below the video!

Eurosport Nederland

@Eurosport_NL

·Follow

🚴🇪🇸 | Jonas Vingegaard is de beste op de Bola del Mundo en pakt na zijn tweede plek in de Tour de France nu voor de eerste keer de eindwinst in de Vuelta a España. Petje af! 🇩🇰🧢 #LaVuelta25 📺 Stream koers op HBO Max

Watch on X

3:17 PM · Sep 13, 2025

Almeida can accept defeat: "It's okay to finish behind Jonas"

“The idea was to ride as hard as possible, all day long. Unfortunately, I've been sick this week, so I wasn't feeling too great, but you have to give it a try. I think that's the most important thing,” said Almeida, who was yet another rider in this Vuelta to be afflicted by germs. Vingegaard also suffered from this in the second week.

Ultimately, the Portuguese leader crossed the finish line in sixth place, 22 seconds behind the stage winner. His gap behind Vingegaard in the GC is 1 minute and 16 seconds going into Madrid after three grueling weeks. “I have no regrets. We did what we could. Congratulations to Jonas; he was very strong. It's okay to finish behind him,” he remains realistic.

Read more below the photo

Almeida's ‘revelation’ in the Grand Tour

The smile remained on Almeida's face, who actually always smiles, even when his UAE teammates didn't provide the support that was expected, even when the 27.2-kilometer time trial in the third week was suddenly reduced to 12.2 kilometers, even when Vingegaard had already beaten him on day 9, and even when he was runner-up in the Vuelta a España.

A second place in a Grand Tour was already called “a revelation” by team boss Mauro Gianetti, and it is also Almeida's best performance in a three-week race. He has been in the top ten of the Grand Tours for years, but only in the 2023 Giro d'Italia did he finish third (with the white youth jersey on his shoulders).

Read more below the photo

Almeida broke through in the Giro d'Italia

In that same Giro in 2020, Almeida made his breakthrough as a GC rider, wearing the pink jersey for a long time while still riding for Soudal-Quick Step and eventually finishing fourth in the GC. A year later, he finished sixth, but could have done better if he hadn't had to do so much work for his team leader, Remco Evenepoel, who eventually had to withdraw from the race.

When Almeida joined UAE in 2022, he immediately became an even better rider. He finished fourth and ninth in the 2022 and 2023 Vuelta and fourth in the 2024 Tour de France as Tadej Pogacar's super domestique. Second place in the Vuelta is therefore his sixth top ten and fourth top five finish in ten Grand Tours he has completed.

Read also

Write a comment

Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief

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'.

Bram van der Ploeg | Lindkedin | Email

See author's posts

IDL-productions

2026 GP Montreal preview | Evenepoel and Pidcock face World Championships dress rehearsal

2026 Vuelta a España Stage 21 preview | Route change boosts Van Aert as Granada circuit sparks safety debate

2026 Vuelta a España route | 7 times Visma | Lease a Bike, now finally success for Mas

2026 Vuelta a España Stage 20 preview | The monstrous mountain stage everyone has feared for weeks

From the Scottish Borders to leading the Vuelta a España time trial: the rapid rise of Britain's Callum Thornley

Latest Cycling News

2026 World Cycling Championships Elite Women start list | These are Demi Vollering's rivals in Montréal

Philippe Gilbert slams Tim Wellens for skipping the World Championships: 'His statement makes no sense'

Urska Zigart reacts fiercely to comments about Pogačar's 'millions': 'Take care of yourself and your wife'

Battered & bruised Pogačar and Zigart pick up where they left off; UAE announces 'Ride with Tadej' on MyWhoosh

Tadej Pogačar is back on the bike in injury progress update video: 'At least we have good company'

Popular Cycling News

Cycling transfers 2026/2027 | The 2027 transfer market merry-go-round continues apace

2026 World Cycling Championships Route & Schedule | Road & time trial teams are starting to be announced

Dutch national coach explains why he dropped Anna van der Breggen and Marianne Vos for the World Cycling Championships