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It is the question of the moment. In Italy, Portugal and a little in all the places where cycling is relevant. João Almeida has been the leader of the Giro for a week and continues to defend the pink jersey, but will he be able to keep the lead until the end of the competition and become the first Portuguese to win a Grand Tour? Opinions differ. Including that of the protagonist himself.
“I would like to keep the pink shirt until then, but I don’t know if it will be possible. Honestly, I really don’t believe in that possibility. [de vencer]but we have to wait and see. I have never competed in such a long race, there are people with much more experience than me and one bad day is enough for everything to go downhill ”, said the Portuguese cyclist at an online press conference. João Almeida also recalled that “the worst is yet to come” until the last stage, on the 25th and final in Milan, and that “the final part is the hardest”. “They will be very tough stages, very cold too and many climbs [a montanhas] covered with snow ”, he explained, ensuring that he is still not looked at with greater respect despite being at the top of the classification for a week.
[Ouça aqui a entrevista completa de José Poeira:]
How do you explain the success of national cycling?
“Since it’s only been a week, they see me as someone who has the ability. But how can anyone care in the fight for victory? Not yet. If you stick with the pink shirt for another week, maybe they’ll think differently. “ João Almeida finished. José Poeira, national cycling coach, has a similar but less definitive opinion. In an interview with the program “Not everything that goes to the net is a ball” by Rádio Observador, the coach recalled that this is “the first great lap” that the cyclist makes.
“We don’t know, honestly. We know what you have achieved so far, you have already exceeded some expectations. A race like this is many days, you have to be good every day. He’s a 22-year-old boy, let’s see. There are also runners waiting the last week for stronger attacks. But if you are not successful this year, after one or two years, with more experience and more resistance, it still brings you ”, José Poeira said. The truth is that this Tuesday, in the tenth stage and after the first day of rest, João Almeida once again defended the pink jersey of the Giro along 177 kilometers between Lanciano and Tortoreto that had the possibility of finishing in pique.
Mitchelton-Scott and Jumbo-Visma withdraw from the Giro due to Covid-19 cases. Kruijswijk, who was 11 years old, is infected
The day began intensely marked by Covid-19. After the 571 tests carried out this Monday, Mitchelson-Scott and Jumbo-Visma ended up giving up on the competition: the first detected four positive cases in the personal, the second had Steven Kruijswijk, the senior partner, infected. The 33-year-old Dutchman was eleventh, 1.24 behind João Almeida, thus leaving the Giro after missing the Tour with a shoulder injury. In the middle, Michael Matthews, sprinter from Subweb, also tested positive and abandoned the test, while INEOS and AG2R La Mondiale also detected cases in the structure.
After being photographed with the pink nightgown as a pillow – following the viral image in which he appeared asleep dressed in the same nightgown the first night he brought her home – João Almeida appeared at the top of the squad as he passed. the initial 50 kilometers. Nearby were Rúben Guerreiro, leader of the mountain classification and winner of Sunday’s stage; later, some seven fugitives, including Peter Sagan, Simon Clarke and Filippo Ganna.
The photo session in which João Almeida appeared with the pink sweater as a pillow
Sagan even passed first in the pique by Giulianova, followed by Ganna and Jhonatan Restrepo, and about 50 kilometers from the end, the riders began the series of demanding climbs to Tortoreto – including a category 4 – in some rain. The peloton reduced the distance to the leading group to two minutes with just over 30 kilometers to go to the finish line and Pello Bilbao, third overall, was the first to flee to approach the fugitives. Further back, the Astana cyclists were followed by João Almeida, who took off from the peloton guided by two companions from Deceuninck – Quick-Step.
Seeing Bilbao take the lead, the Portuguese rider began to ask his teammates for more pace and personally took the lead in the peloton, accelerating to close the gap for the Spanish Bahrein-McLaren. – in an extraordinary show of strength not only from Deceuninck but also from João Almeida, who made it clear that he wanted to keep the pink jersey for at least one more day. With Bilbao only with Peter Sagan and Ben Swift ahead, the Slovakian took the bet for victory in the race just over 10 kilometers from the finish: practically at the same time that João Almeida, alone, was leading the race again. squad to the rear.
During the last kilometers, the Portuguese cyclist led the pack until reaching Bilbao and ensuring the maintenance of the pink jersey and the first place in the classification, starting third after surprising again at the finish line – and second winners for both Kelderman and the Spaniard, second and third overall. Later on, Peter Sagan won the 10th stage of the Giro and was back on the winning track more than a year later, followed by Mikkel Bjerg of UAE Team Emirates.
???????? @petosagan win in Tortoreto!
???????? @petosagan win in Tortoreto!#Round pic.twitter.com/6kPzmBQbPB
– Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) October 13, 2020
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