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João Almeida’s cadet coach remembers “the jewel of a young man”
Coach Célio Apolinário, who trained João Almeida, leader of the Volta a Itália, in cadets and juniors, remembers “the jewel of a young man”, dedicated, humble and talented, who “never gives up”.
In an interview with the Lusa agency, one of the coaches who marks the professional career of the 22-year-old “kid” he leads, at the service of a Deceuninck-QuickStep that he always wanted to represent, the “Giro”, describes him as someone who has always been “very focused”.
Apolinário was also one of the coaches who captivated the youngster from A-Dos-Francos, in Caldas da Rainha, as he saw it very early, when he was running “at EcoSprint, in Caldas, a team focused on BTT”.
In one of the tests they did on the road, she liked seeing him, “he was 14 years old.”
“In another race I looked at him again. He didn’t even walk in front, but he was always very young, never giving up. He told me “hey, this kid is a cyclist, I have to invite him,” he says.
He spoke with the teenager and his father, Dário, and took him to Cartaxo, and right in the Volta a Portugal of cadets from the first year they worked together, he was in the “top 10” and won an invitation to the national team, by hand by José Poeira.
Subsequently, he followed the coach to the Bombarralense, where he “evolved even more”, and, in his first junior year, “shone” in the Champions League, a three-stage race in which U-23 cyclists participated. 17 years.
“In the Junior Vuelta a Portugal, he wins at Larouco, he is fourth overall and wins juniors”, recalls Célio Apolinário, remembering a cyclist who stood out alongside Daniel Viegas, who today rides in Kometa Xstra, created by Alberto Contador.
Apolinário, who now trains juniors at the Joaquim Agostinho Academy, also recalls that the fact that Almeida did not have “not a speck of evil” put the young cyclist at the mercy of several games.
“When it was the first time in doping control, we decided to play with him. I went with him, as a minor coach, and winked at the doctor. I said, ‘Look, there are new rules in control.’ “So, Célio? ‘And I:” So, now you take the glass, put the glass on the floor, walk five feet back and you have to hit the glass. “Of course João was very upset, [a dizer] that wasn’t going to do it right and it made the whole floor dirty. That was a joke. I thought it was true. I was going to try, “he says, in one of the many” games “with the now Giro hero.
The humility, the dedication, until the coach had to “scold him for training too much”, took him to the top, with a discreet profile that the world is getting to know little by little.
“João was always like this, even if things were not so good, nothing happened. Always calm, a jewel for children, always a fighter, João never ever had a bad action for me or his companions. Always a calm child, and that. it’s what you see today, ”he says.
He did the double in juniors, with a time trial title and antecedents, after being already a cadet champion, then in 2014, and he also won Nationals on the track, in a growing domain that proves evolution over the years, before leaving to run. abroad, first at Unieuro Trevigiani – Hemus 1896 and then at Hagens Berman Axeon, before reaching Deceuninck-QuickStep.
“João was always very focused. It was a natural evolution, because he always flew against the clock, he always rode well, and in the mountain stages he never had any difficulty. (…) João, when he made a mistake, he only made one. It was very attentive and enjoyed learning. He was also an excellent student, “he reveals.
Also, from a very young age I knew what I wanted. “His dream has always been QuickStep. The first helmet he bought was a Specialized by QuickStep, it was the team of his dreams.”
This “humble boy, who always knew how to be, no matter if he won or lost, he only talked about QuickStep” when he was young.
As for the success he is having, they had already recommended it in the joke, in a conversation between the two: “We spoke almost daily, when possible, and he told me that he was well prepared for the Giro, and I even told him I was in It’s time to beat the record of Acácio da Silva ”, who in 1989 also wore the pink jersey, he says.
João joked: “” then, let’s see if I can “, and the result shows that there was a basis in the” expectation that existed “.” But nobody thought it would be so soon, “he warns.
“As long as he can, he will fight until the last day. Very sincerely, I am hopeful and I believe that João can bring us the Giro. Only if he has a bad day. (…) He will sell the man. [a vitória] to [Wilco] Kelderman, who will have to sweat a lot, ”he says.
On Sunday, an image of the Portuguese-speaking cyclist looming in the retina, traveling several kilometers, alone, since the last climb behind the Dutchman, who is now second overall, 15 seconds, to finish fourth and stay in the lead.
“It was always like this, he always fought to the end. Sometimes he reached the finish line, with his parents waiting, and they grabbed him because he was really exhausted. He always gave everything. Today, professionals do their job and open up to the side.” João, working for Remco [Evenepoel, colega de equipa], gave everything and then even more, to see if it would come to a good place for him. He never gives up, ”he explains.
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