Almeida and his pink jersey painted the 2020 Giro d'Italia for fifteen, before the Stelvio and the subsequent finish at the Cancano Lakes got in the way like obstacles too high to climb over. Joao finished in fifth place and asked for a rematch the following year, but when the Deceuninck-Quick Step he placed him next to Evenepoel, in what was Lefevere's team's biggest strategic mistake. The young man was not ready yet and he was returning after the accident at the Lombardia. So the time Almeida wasted waiting for him relegated him to sixth place overall. He gets the message, this year the Portuguese has moved to UAE Team Emirates, but instead of Evenepoel he found Covid. He withdrew from the Giro after the Lavarone stageHe returned to the national championships and won second place at the Vuelta Burgos and went on to take sixth place in the VueltaBut the Giro remains the Giro and, as such, it has made it again the focus of the season.
Behind closed doors
We met Joao, who turned 24 in August, in a small room in the Benidorm hotel, after he had finished adjusting his glasses. The journalists had already all left and dinner was already awaited., in this retreat that feels like a reboot and team building. With the new players still wearing their old jerseys and the old ones practicing in their new ones. When the UCI rewrites this rule, we will all be happier. Even we who travel around for retreats and cannot publish everything we photograph.
Talking about him just an hour ago, His mentor Matxin had said that the boy is growing according to the best schedule for him. That it is wrong to put him on the same level as those who managed to skip the stages. And that those days in pink must not lead him to want to skip any steps. That's where we started with him.
What did those days in the pink jersey represent?
Something I'll remember for the rest of my career. A great record and a great feeling. During that Giro I grew a lot as a man and as a rider.. Something special remains and since then, but perhaps even before, winning the Giro has become my goalThis year there was Covid and the best version of me wasn't seen. But as usual, we are doing everything necessary to achieve the goal. If we work hard, we will succeed.
Do you feel like an evolving athlete?
I see that I'm always improving. I do well on the highest mountains, I'm a better climberThis year I didn't do so well in the time trials, but because we had some delays with the bikes, There wasn't a perfect scenario. I'm sure 2023 will be fine.
Is the Giro still your primary goal?
Definitely. But In whatever race we go with the team, the goal will be to win. So I'm aiming to get into good shape and we'll see what we can do elsewhere.
How do you feel about being a leader?
I feel good. Sure, the first year I was in a new team and it wasn't easy to live with the responsibility, because I sensed that there were great expectations placed on me. It could have been better if I hadn't had Covid, but I was happy and so was the team. So I'd say I'm improving in that too.
Have you noticed that the team is growing alongside you?
The perfect team doesn't exist, but the team is really improving a lotWe work hard for this very reason. As I said, I'm not the only one. If you look around, the differences are obvious.
What do you think of the Giro route?
I've only seen it on paper. There's a lot of time trial, but there are also tough mountainsIt will be a challenging Giro, but it could be suitable for me and for this reason I will study it in detail. We will also do reconnaissance, we are talking about it right nowThe trouble is, as soon as the races start, there will be less and less time to do them. I will definitely go and see the three time trials, especially the third one, the uphill one.Everything can be decided that day. I'm sure it will be an exhilarating Giro.
