I would have to rewatch to get the timing correctly, what exactly was going on at the front when Almeida dropped, but my impression was that if DQS was leading at that precise point, they weren't making tempo, but keeping the speed steady to protect their chances.
But regardless, it's the top Belgian team with the by far most exciting Belgian GC prospect in generations, hoping to break a 40+ year curse of not winning the biggest races in what's arguably Belgium's national sport. You'd be a moron to think you're on top of the pecking order there.