“One bad day and everything can change”, Almeida realized all too well in the final week of the Giro. The Portuguese had unexpectedly been wearing the pink jersey for two weeks, but was not able to cope with the pounding of Team Sunweb in the queen stage.
The Portuguese gives up his pink jersey, but gets the respect of his teammates in return. “Nothing but endless respect and admiration for this young man who rode around in the iconic pink jersey for 15 days,” his team wrote on Twitter.
Remco Evenepoel also expresses his admiration for his young teammate. “I take my hat off for your courage and perseverance,” he writes.
The closing word in the accolade is for manager Patrick Lefevere. “What a fighter and what a squad. We lost a fight today, but we are coming back stronger.”
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Joao Almeida was “proud” of what he had achieved. “I lose the pink jersey and that’s a shame. Anyway, my opponents are just stronger and I couldn’t do anything against that today.”
“I fought for it, but I was at my limit halfway through the Stelvio. I chose my own pace to ride up. In the end I don’t lose that much time, but still enough to stop wearing the pink.”
“The others were stronger and I didn’t have the legs, didn’t reach their level. The pink dream is over, but I fought for it” ”
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