Joao almeida He's doing roller skating with a sea view. From the Majella you can easily admire the Adriatic if it weren't for a bit of haze. But the important thing is that the Portuguese man in Abruzzo had a major tooth pulled today. blockhouse for him it was one of the two hardest obstacles of this Tour of Italy, together with Marmolada.
The rider of UAE Emirates He was the least capable of climbing among the men who finished ahead today. And he was a metronome in doing so. Along the way, he performed a true masterpiece. He was one of the first big names to break away and managed to catch up several times. A slice of victory for Hindley it's his too for that!
Ha given everything Joao and the fact that a fast rider like him didn't sprint says it all.
Detailed information
Inside UAE Emirates They had studied it thoroughly. With software, slides... And they "passed" all this knowledge on to Almeida, who capitalized on it, making the most of it.
"Are we a masterpiece? Joao created the masterpiece," the sports director tells us. Fabio Baldato – And the kids did it. Yes, us, especially. MaxtinIn the team car we gave him directions. “Between the fifth and fourth kilometer it gets harder.” “Now comes an easier stretch.” “You’ll find wind here”… but he was very good at managing it.”
"Almeida is like that," Baldato continues, "he never gives up, he doesn't waste a bit of energy. But I have to say that all the guys today did well to protect him and get him to the start of the climb. Covi, but also Formolo.
«David has created a masterpiece. When Joao broke away at that point, the wind was really strong, but Formolo let him pass and rode ahead of him, covering him for 500 very exposed meters. A crucial help. And Almeida himself when it was taken carapaz, he knew well that that was the hardest point of the whole climb and he didn't follow it".
Active recovery
Meanwhile, Almeida continues to make rolls. It's only been five minutes and his face already looks relaxed. He gestures with the guys on his staff who assist him, fixes his hair when he lowers himself back onto the handlebars and kicks off agilely.
He claims to have been fine throughout the climb and the entire day. But in reality, Baldato confides that he said on the radio that he wasn't feeling well. It was probably a bit of tension. Then, when he saw that he was holding the climbers' wheels well, he must have regained his confidence.
«I'm happy with how it went – commented Almeida – I struggled quite a bit to keep up with the best, But my teammates were exceptional. I focused on my pace, and it was the right choice."
Davide Formolo after the finish: excellent legs for the Veronese rider Always Formolo, shows the new Campagnolo wheels already seen on Etna
Davide Formolo after the finish: excellent legs for the Veronese rider Always Formolo, shows the new Campagnolo wheels already seen on Etna
Radiant Formolo
Davide formolo He's about to head back to the buses, which are practically 5.000 meters below the Passo Lanciano mountain pass he tackled earlier. He's wearing a raincoat and smiling big. Partly because "Roccia" has a smile inside him, and partly because His captaincy did well and he knows he did a great job.
«We started the climb and there was a bit of crosswind – says Formolo – I remember that there was also the first time we did it in 2017 and Movistar made some fans. Which seems impossible on a climb and even today it was felt a lot. I saw that even the Ineos Grenadiers he was about to make this move, also because they were all on the edge and so I tried to keep him as covered as possible."
«Then – Formolo continues – I remembered that last time the wind made more of a difference down below than up above. I remembered the climb a little, so I knew that was the most delicate moment. We had to be careful.
"My job today, and in this Giro, is to keep Almeida covered. He's fine and we have a lot of faith in him. But the Giro is still long and luckily he'll rest tomorrow! And then today we did well also because we had these new wheels (The Campagnolo, ed.), think that it's the first time I used them».
Word to Covi
The Alessandro Covi He's smiling. He too has earned his place with honor. Excellent work.
"Yes, my legs are good," says the Lombard. "Joao is a true regular, and I expected him to tackle the climb like that. And the way he rides. Just think that even on the flat when we have to push him forward or if there are accelerations, he always loses that handful of meters at the beginning."
«Anyway, we had studied the climb well and whoever was supposed to get to the top in front was even better than me! How? Up VeloViewerThey definitely spoke on the radio. Once I finished my work, I turned it off and... 36 × 32 (a relationship that Formolo and Almeida also had, ed.) I arrived up here “calm”.
