Almeida in the fight as Giro d’Italia reaches its climax

Joao Almeida and UAE Team Emirates ticked another stage off the list as just one final mountainous time-trial lies between and the final podium in Rome. Almeida came home in 6th spot with Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious) taking the win from the breakaway on stage 19.

The 24 year old Portuguese champion Almeida already has a stage victory to his name after a gutsy ride on stage 16 to Monte Bondone.

With three stage wins on the board the road to Rome is lined with glory, though a final push in the time trial is on the cards tomorrow.

Almeida : “I gave it everything I had. I was up there until the end but the others got a bit of a gap in the end. It was so steep and hard to attack, you really needed amazing legs. It’s not impossible to make up the time but it’s pretty unlikely. Overall I’ll be happy with my performance and the team performance on this Giro.”

Almeida sits 3rd on GC, 59’’ behind race leader Geraint Thomas (Ineos-Grenadiers) and continues to lead the white jersey classification.

Stage results

1.Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious) 5:28:07
2.Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) +51’’
3.Magnus Cort (EF Education) +1’46’’
6.Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +2’09’’

General Classification after stage 19

1.Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) 67:32:35
2.Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) +26’’
3.Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +59’’