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The cyclist João Almeida has not yet assimilated his feat in the Tour of Italy, which finished in fourth position, but this Monday he coincided with the king of the mountain Rúben Guerreiro in the positive balance they make of his presence in the ‘corsa rosa’.
“It is a more than positive balance, I am very satisfied. We started with the shirt one day, day by day we saw how far we could go, and I think 15 days [como líder] it was great. I am very grateful to all my team for everything they have done for me, without them I could not do the same. And I think it is a moment without words, and only those who have lived the race can feel the same as me, ”described João Almeida.
At an impromptu conference in Lisbon, after being received, like Rubén Guerreiro, with applause from friends, family and spectators who circulated through the Humberto Delgado airport, the young cyclist from Deceuninck-QuickStep confessed that he still did not have a perfect idea of his feat. the best Portuguese in history in the 103 editions of the Giro.
“Fourth place overall, 15 days in pink… I’m still not sure what I did,” said the 22-year-old, who was also the top ranked U23 in the race, in which he broke the record for the Longer days as the leader of a rider under the age of 23, surpassing even ‘Cannibal’ Eddy Merckx.
The ‘pink jersey’ only separated from the body of the new Portuguese sports hero in the mythical Stelvio, where Almeida detached himself from the group of favorites right at the beginning of the climb and even thought ‘goodbye pink’, before managing to stay ‘afloat ‘, to lose as little time as possible.
“I knew it would be difficult to keep the jersey, it was the queen stage. Stelvio is one of the toughest climbs in the world. I liked the climb, although I lost my shirt. From there, it was trying to discover myself, keeping the psychological approach, which I think is the most difficult, and we fought to the end, “he recalled.
In addition to finishing fourth overall in the Giro, Portugal was also able to celebrate the unprecedented achievement of Ruben Guerreiro (Education First), the first national cyclist to win one of the four main Grand Tour classifications and to reach the final podium as’ king of the mountain. ”
“[Tenho] very proud. My goal and that of the team was to fight for a stage. After that stage, the jersey was an extra, so I had to try to keep it until the end. It was a very difficult fight, but with a lot of effort and support from my teammates we got there. I value these three weeks very positively. It was only the second great lap I did, I am satisfied with my feelings ”, acknowledged the winner of the ninth stage of the Italian race.
Rúben Guerreiro recalled the tough battle he fought with the Italian Giovanni Visconti, who ended up leaving the Giro before the start of the 18th stage due to injury, due to the mountain jersey.
“In stage 15 I lost the jersey and there was a rival, Giovanni Visconti, who was in very good shape and had won the mountain jersey earlier in the Tour of Italy. [em 2015], and he was very smart. My career was different from João’s, I started in the first group and, from there, in the mountain goals, I turned off the button thinking about the next day ”, he explained.
The 26-year-old cyclist from Montijo confided that, on the first day of rest, after wearing the ‘azzurra jersey’ the day before, as a bonus to the victory in the ninth stage, he met with those responsible for Education First and both they decided they should focus on qualifying for the mountain, rather than fighting for more stages.
“In fact, I had a brilliant team and they always motivated me for the mountain jersey, because it was an important jersey and it was important for the team to be on the final podium at the Giro. The last six stages were a real war for me, in which I had to win or I had to win, ”he declared.
On Sunday the 103rd edition of the Volta a Italia by bicycle ended, with the victory of the British Tao Geoghegan Hart (INEOS).
