He finally made it. Joao Almeida won the Tour de Suisse. With tenacity, with constancy, like a little ant, the Portuguese of the UAE Emirates He got underway after the mess of the initial stage and, in the final 10 kilometers against the clock of the Swiss race, he turned the situation around.
Kevin Vauquelin but he was a fierce opponent. Unexpected, but equally tenacious. He fought as long as he could, and let's face it, he even made Almeida tremble... and not just him. "In the end, yes, I'm disappointed, but the UAE "He has more powerful means than ours," the young Frenchman declared.
Never give up
Who was really a shark – and he himself he told us he came here to win – it was Almeida himself.
He started the comeback almost without thinking, but with the intent to redeem himself by conquering the stages. And so here it is: theSpluga solo, The Santa Maria in Calanca sprint and the victory in Emmetten before yesterday's finale. Every day, with gaps and bonus points, he chipped away at the leader. So much so that he arrived 33" behind Vauquelin. Not bad considering how things were going: 3'22” delay after the first fraction.
"It was a long road, where a mistake could have cost us dearly," Almeida says. "Luckily, we didn't make any more mistakes after the start and managed to get to the end. But even when I lost three minutes, I don't think we made that much of a mistake.
«The team was incredible, we did a perfect job, we fought for the victory, we never gave up, we always believed in it. In the end it was a real lesson: you should never give up. Sometimes things go wrong, nothing is ever perfect. You just have to keep trying. We kept trying, and we succeeded.
«And now? I'll enjoy this victory to the fullest. And then I'll be ready for the Tour de France and to support Tadej pogacar. I hope we will have further successes."
Pedrazzini tells
Among the supporters of this beautiful comeback there is Simone Pedrazzini, the sporting director of the UAE Team Emirates in this Tour de Suisse.
«We took her back by the hair – Simone says – We started like this, with that stage where we lost ground. It can happen. The problem is that we weren't sure we'd make it back, the route wasn't particularly selective. There weren't any finishes with long climbs, except for today's time trial (yesterday for those reading, ed.). And yet Joao, a day here and a day there, managed to make up for it all."
Yet Pedrazzini admits that they always believed in it, Almeida especially. But recovering by more than three minutes was far from a given. Even before the time trial, there was no absolute certainty.
"Yup, We believed it, but we weren't 100 percent sure. Vauquelin is a good time trialist, just look at his results. But it was a hill climb time trial, and that could have worked in our favor. We thought we could shave a minute off him, but in the end it was 1'40."
No recon
Almeida's approach to the time trial was, to say the least, unusual. In a cycling world where everything is studied, Pedrazzini says the Portuguese rider didn't do a reconnaissance. And even for pacing, a different approach was chosen.
«It was a fairly quiet morning – says the coach – Joao didn't even want to see the route. He preferred to rest. He had already seen the first 4,6 kilometers with yesterday's finish. As for pacing and setting up the time trial, we have David Herrero. He's the one who analyzes everything, who gives the riders instructions, including on equipment, and who explains the route..."
And precisely with regards to managing effort and pace, Almeida's words are curious: «I didn't time my effort well at the start and finish. I didn't have the energy to give it my all in the last kilometer, but it was enough. I did a really nice climb, and I felt really good. At some points, I thought my power meter was poorly calibrated, because it was showing higher values than usual. So yeah, I’m really super happy.”
«Joao – continues Pedrazzini – did his part. The mix of the two things, Herrero's indications and his legs, led to the time trial we saw.You know, in modern cycling it's no longer the sport director who influences the time trial, but others. The sport director manages the day, makes sure everything runs smoothly."
Those two intermediates…
A well-organized day begins with seemingly trivial details: like the bus being parked correctly, given the logistical challenges, and everything being arranged properly. The meeting with Herrero was crucial, as was the support of the other guys on the team.
Another aspect not to be underestimated,” Pedrazzini continues, “is that at the end of a time trial like this, few people go all out. It was important for us to motivate everyone. Knowing how to do a time trial well is something that will also be useful in the future, and I must say that the guys did well despite having been out of breath for 160 kilometers the day before. And in any case, having done it with commitment meant that in the first few kilometres there were small useful indications for Joao, such as a double bend, the edge of the pavement higher in the first 700 metres which were fast.. And this is a motivation. They know they can help the captain."
La UAE Emirates He left nothing to chance. The battleship had arranged everything perfectly along the way.
"Herrero was speaking on the radio," Pedrazzini concludes. "As I said, he's the one doing the calculations, and it's right that he should be the one giving the instructions. Instructions that help us avoid being crushed at key moments. Almeida always knew the gaps, not just at the official intermediate time. We had organized two other timing points on our own: one at two kilometers and one at seven, in addition to the one at 4,6 kilometers. Now, this is part of the sports director's duties.
«Returning to the gaps, already after two kilometers – the most favorable to Vauquelin – Almeida had an 11-second lead. That meant a lot. As well as having taken Alaphilippe…for goodness sake, he's no specialist, but in a time trial, having him in sight for over a kilometer was an added boost. For morale too."
