João Almeida - Bota Lume

[Scarponi]

Somehow i feel that his approach to racing was not a bad one. That is if he can continue to progress.

He is my least favourite rider in the entire peleton

 

[Salvarani]

Rouleur on Instagram: ""I’ve not won a lot, but the level is so freaking high. Every race there is a Roglič, a Remco or a Vingegaard, so it’s not easy to win, but mostly I have been in the top three of races. I’m very happy with how things have been

1,602 likes, 13 comments - rouleurmagazine on January 28, 2024: ""I’ve not won a lot, but the level is so freaking high. Every race there is a Roglič, a Remco or a Vingegaard, so it’s not easy to win, but mostly I have been in the top three of races. I’m very happy with how things have been...

www.instagram.com

Very sound and level-headed way to look at it.

Almeida is consistent and one day. One race. It might be to his advantage.

11 wins, so far, is not bad either.

He still has time on his side.

 

[CyclistAbi]

He is my least favourite rider in the entire peleton

C'mon you at least got to love the consistency and the bounce back move?

I meant more in the direction of not being obsessed with winning the Tour at age 20. Learning the craft and trying to hit the peak of his career in between being 25 and 30 years old. Taking things like mental stability into the account.

We'll see on where that takes him. If he can really make that one step further, physically, then he is right there in top tier.

 

[Froome]

He is my least favourite rider in the entire peleton

He is an improved/updated louis meintjes, but yeah, a bit boring.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

He is my least favourite rider in the entire peleton

Too defensive? I quite enjoyed his Giro last year. But i did like his racing style a bit better when he was riding for a blue team.

 

[Rob5091]

Very interesting piece of info from the renowned blog by Mr Ring -

https://inrng.com/2024/02/tuesday-shorts-17/#more-43934

...the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, a scientific journal, describes the five month training regimen of a 25 year old rider on the podium in the Giro. Given Roglič and Thomas are well into their 30s it doesn’t take too much to guess that the rider’s first name is probably João but the interesting thing is the way it describes how intense training efforts are carefully spaced apart and that the harder the training gets, the more rest days are included. Obvious you might think reading it like this, but there are many ways to measure effort but few to monitor fatigue and the bias has long been that more riding is better, while rest invokes a fear of missing out. One factor explored here already is how calorie consumption has changed and is making racing livelier, another idea to explore further is how more rested riders, whether from training or processional sprint stages, are also contributing.

Study at (so you too can be like a Giro podium cyclist!)
https://journals.humankinetics.com/...2023-0224/article-10.1123-ijspp.2023-0224.xml

Edit - "During training a pattern alternating “hard days” versus “easy days” was observed, as significant amounts of medium or high intensity, or load, were not performed for more than 2 consecutive days" is a quote from the study, which is interesting as Sky/Ineos rode GT's with 2 day blocks at 100% and then a rest day, which of course matches the current GT parcours of no more then 2 consecutive hard mountain stages.

 

[noob]

When you wear your helmet Pogi style

 

[Froome]

You should never have left Quick step......

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

You should never have left Quick step......

Bank manager says no.

 

[carolina]

You should never have left Quick step......

Most of SQS is underperforming, so... Maybe it wasn't that bad of an idea.

 

[Peyroteo94]

It wasn't a bad idea to go UAE. He had leadership in the Giro for 2 years but never showed the ability necessary to be a gt leader. This year, he wanted to race the Tour so he has to be humble and recognize he can't get a free role when we have Pogacar in the team.
I think he should target the Giro next year however I think Ayuso will be the true leader.

 

[Froome]

Most of SQS is underperforming, so... Maybe it wasn't that bad of an idea.

Remco is underperforming? Landa is underperforming? Merlier is underperforming?
Young guys like lecerf william junior are not improving?

I don't think Alaphilippe underperforming has something to do with the team.

Almeida was improving a lot on Quick step, but it's not just that. If he stayed on Quick step, he would get more chances. In emirates he will have problems to have some leadership in the future, with so many top riders and young riders emerging like Pogacar, ayuso, yates, del toro. He will end as Pogacar's domestique.

 

[noob]

Did he get a perm though? I don't remember him having these extreme curls before 😁

 

[Sciatic]

Remco is underperforming? Landa is underperforming? Merlier is underperforming?
Young guys like lecerf william junior are not improving?

I don't think Alaphilippe underperforming has something to do with the team.

Almeida was improving a lot on Quick step, but it's not just that. If he stayed on Quick step, he would get more chances. In emirates he will have problems to have some leadership in the future, with so many top riders and young riders emerging like Pogacar, ayuso, yates, del toro. He will end as Pogacar's domestique.

I think it’s fair to say the team has been underperforming in the realm they were once known to dominate: the cobbled classics.

 

[SHAD0W93]

I think it’s fair to say the team has been underperforming in the realm they were once known to dominate: the cobbled classics.

They went from “Howl of the Wolfpack” to “Whimper of the Wolf”.

 

[carolina]

Remco is underperforming? Landa is underperforming? Merlier is underperforming?
Young guys like lecerf william junior are not improving?

Please continue the list, don't leave out all the other riders. I wrote "most of" and you decided to chose the ones that are not underperforming lol.

How would SQS support Almeida in the GTs any better then UAE? They barelly have a team to support Remco.
He would end up working for Remco and we all know how that went...

Almeida will top 10 the Tour and the Vuelta this year. I'm confident.

 

[SafeBet]

I remember posters claiming he didn't have the skills to be a useful domestique.
Yesterday's performance tells me he could be the ultimate train superdom. Destroyed the peloton with his tempo and still had the legs to finish second.

 

[Nick2413]

I remember posters claiming he didn't have the skills to be a useful domestique.
Yesterday's performance tells me he could be the ultimate train superdom. Destroyed the peloton with his tempo and still had the legs to finish second.

His diesel consistency would be ideal for any points of danger if Pogacar happens to have a bad day

 

[Peyroteo94]

I remember posters claiming he didn't have the skills to be a useful domestique.
Yesterday's performance tells me he could be the ultimate train superdom. Destroyed the peloton with his tempo and still had the legs to finish second.

He is obviously the perfect domestique for Pogacar. Huge engine, can put a hard tempo in flat and hilly roads, he can make long efforts so he is perfect before Yates. We all should hope for Vingegaard to be close to his best. If not, I can see Almeida destroying the peloton before Yates even gets to work for Pogacar

 

[Elos Anjos]

Some user joked yesterday that Almeida fooled Yates into Almeiding him.

It's obviously a pun but there's some truth behind it.

He cannot make explosive attacks. The best way is to increase tempo little by little until the others blow up. Having a donkey in front of him instead of an open road actually works better.

Regarding the Tour future GT attempts, I think the Vuelta is the least taylored GT for him.

 

[Froome]

I remember posters claiming he didn't have the skills to be a useful domestique.
Yesterday's performance tells me he could be the ultimate train superdom. Destroyed the peloton with his tempo and still had the legs to finish second.

He can be the perfect superdomestique with the way he climbs.

 

[noob]

I remember posters claiming he didn't have the skills to be a useful domestique.
Yesterday's performance tells me he could be the ultimate train superdom. Destroyed the peloton with his tempo and still had the legs to finish second.

It's the consistent Almeida pattern; tell him he is bad at something and he will show you! The only thing he has left to prove us wrong is handling rain.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Come on Almeida take the win with force on Sunday.

 

[KZD]

Starting to look like a real podium contender for the Tour and after these two last days I think he will win TDS.

Great way to take his first win of the season too.

 

[carolina]

By the looks of it, Poga won't need Yates and Ayuso.