Stage 9 of the Vuelta a España began bright and early with the news that João Almeida would not continue due to a symptomatic Covid-19 infection.
While it’s sad news for the Vuelta where Almeida had been running third overall until stage 8, it’s also a huge blow to UAE Team Emirates which had been hoping to do as their arch-rivals did in 2023 and take a Grand Tour sweep, adding the Vuelta to Tadej Pogačar’s historic Giro-Tour double.
It’s not hugely surprising news after the 26-year-old’s precipitous fall from third to 26th overall on stage 8, during which he lost 4:53 on the final 4.8-kilometre climb alone, after dangling conspicuously on the tail of the peloton even as the pace was raised on the run-in to the explosive finale. His positioning meant that he was caught behind the crash at the foot of the Sierra de Cazorla, but coverage then showed a distinct lack of momentum as he soft-pedalled up the steep gradients.
That he had reported symptoms to his team during the stage explains his disappointing drop in form after looking like a real threat to the GC podium.
“João reported feeling unwell during stage 8 of La Vuelta,” said UAE team medical director Dr Adrianno Rotunno. “After further examination and undergoing a PCR test which confirmed a Covid 19 infection, the decision has been made to withdraw him from the race in the best interest of his, the team, and the peloton’s safety. He will now travel home for recovery.”
After Pogačar’s bombastic Giro-Tour double, talk turned to the idea of a Grand Tour triple before the Tour de France had even begun, but with neither the Slovenian nor his team seduced by the idea of racing his first Vuelta since 2019, a one-man triple was quickly ruled out – not least to keep his top-tier teammates happy.
With that in mind, Almeida started the Vuelta as co-leader for UAE Team Emirates along with Adam Yates – fourth and sixth respectively at the Tour de France – with Grand Tour debutant Isaac del Toro waiting in the wings, no or low pressure on his 20-year-old shoulders.
Almeida was having a good first week until stage 8, but after a decent opening time trial, his elder teammate Yates’s Vuelta looked like it was falling apart pretty fast. Struggling in the searing heat that followed the race from Portugal, the 32-year-old first lost time on stage 4 to Pico Villuercas, and he lost yet more as Ben O’Connor soared into the red jersey two days later. At the beginning of stage 8, his teammate Almeida sitting on the virtual podium, Yates was already down in 32nd overall, 9:10 down on O’Connor, and 4:25 behind Roglič.
Now that Almeida has been forced to withdraw, the team’s best hope based on standings alone is the young Mexican wunderkind Del Toro who ended stage 8 in 17th overall, 6:32 down on race leader O’Connor, and 2:43 behind current second-overall Roglič – and 2:55 ahead of Yates.
Pavel Sivakov is also up there, just 35 seconds behind his young teammate, but while Del Toro seems to be getting better each day – for now – Sivakov also lost more than two minutes on the stage 8 finale.
Of course, common practice would suggest that relying on Grand Tour debutant Del Toro to lead the team for another two whole weeks is a bit much, but this is white-jersey collector Pogačar’s team. Sure, Pogačar did not win his debut Grand Tour, but he won his first Grand Tour stage, and his second, and his third at the 2019 Vuelta, and finished third overall – and won the white jersey, obviously.
Del Toro certainly seems to have the pedigree for the high mountains, all of which are yet to come, and we’ll get a preview on stage 9.
All that said, with no UAE Team Emirates riders inside the top 15 (thus far), the team’s aspirations of a Grand Tour sweep are looking less and less likely to come true … What if Pogačar had swapped holidays for another three weeks in Spain? We’ll never know.
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