João Almeida - Bota Lume

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Just realised that the market for Almeida 2026 should be huge. He's gonna have options for sure.
I'm still not sure Almeida can win a GT.

We're seeing with Ayuso that a GT is not the same as a one-week race.

Jay Vine finished third in Romandie, and in the Giro he was never at the level of the best before retiring.
Fortunato finished fourth and out of GC.

There are many examples, Ayuso seems to be one. He's very good at races like Tirreno Adriatico, but he always struggles to fight for a GT win.

The same thing happened to Valverde. He won the Vuelta because it's the easiest to win, but he couldn't handle the Giro and Tour.

Simon Yates was worse than Pidcock at Tirreno Adriaco mountain :rolleyes: and had a climb to Finestre that Ayuso has never been able to do in high mountains.

This is the UAE. Almeida will easily win Switzerland against no one. Jorgenson will go to Dauphinhe as a domestique, because the important thing is that Visma won Giro d'Italia. They don't care about Switzerland, they don't take anyone with options.
 
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I'm still not sure Almeida can win a GT.

We're seeing with Ayuso that a GT is not the same as a one-week race.

Jay Vine finished third in Romandie, and in the Giro he was never at the level of the best before retiring.
Fortunato finished fourth and out of GC.

There are many examples, Ayuso seems to be one. He's very good at races like Tirreno Adriatico, but he always struggles to fight for a GT win.

The same thing happened to Valverde. He won the Vuelta because it's the easiest to win, but he couldn't handle the Giro and Tour.

Simon Yates was worse than Pidcock at Tirreno Adriaco mountain :rolleyes: and had a climb to Finestre that Ayuso has never been able to do in high mountains.

This is the UAE. Almeida will easily win Switzerland against no one. Jorgenson will go to Dauphinhe as a domestique, because the important thing is that Visma won Giro d'Italia. They don't care about Switzerland, they don't take anyone with options.
Almeida is a better GT rider than one week stage racer
 
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Almeida is a better GT rider than one week stage racer
For now, he's achieved the same result as Ayuso, even though he's older than him.

He can aspire to the podium, but he hasn't proven he can win a GT.

Simon won a GT at Visma on his first attempt in that team. Almeida has been in the UAE for three years, but he hasn't won one yet. That's the reality.

If there are doubts that Ayuso can win a GT, with Almeida there should be the same doubts.

Adam is also very good at one-week races but he is going to retire without winning a GT.
 
I don't understand the problem with riding Suisse. It's part of his plan to achieve peak performance at the Tour. Having him help Pogacar at Dauphiné will make no difference, so might as well give him a chance to win for himself.

You also can't forget that, if Pogacar decides to do the Vuelta, Almeida will have had no chances to lead a GT this year. If you want to keep him motivated, you need to give him chances to win other important races.
 
I'm still not sure Almeida can win a GT.

We're seeing with Ayuso that a GT is not the same as a one-week race.

Jay Vine finished third in Romandie, and in the Giro he was never at the level of the best before retiring.
Fortunato finished fourth and out of GC.

There are many examples, Ayuso seems to be one. He's very good at races like Tirreno Adriatico, but he always struggles to fight for a GT win.

The same thing happened to Valverde. He won the Vuelta because it's the easiest to win, but he couldn't handle the Giro and Tour.

Simon Yates was worse than Pidcock at Tirreno Adriaco mountain :rolleyes: and had a climb to Finestre that Ayuso has never been able to do in high mountains.

This is the UAE. Almeida will easily win Switzerland against no one. Jorgenson will go to Dauphinhe as a domestique, because the important thing is that Visma won Giro d'Italia. They don't care about Switzerland, they don't take anyone with options.
This is circular reasoning, though. Everybody “can’t win a GT” until they win one. Purito “can’t win a GT,” but Hesjedal can. Dumoulin can’t win a TdF, but Geraint Thomas can. Roglic can’t win a TdF, but Bernal can. 2019 Carapaz can win a Giro, but 2025 Carapaz can’t, and no Carapaz can win a Vuelta.
 
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I can't believe I'm saying it but if Simon Yates retires Almeida might fit Visma. There's room for giro or vuelta and domestique for Jonas in Tdf. It's actually not as crowded as UAE and tactically a ton better. No Portuguese people though.

I think Broe wants him.
 
I can't believe I'm saying it but if Simon Yates retires Almeida might fit Visma. There's room for giro or vuelta and domestique for Jonas in Tdf. It's actually not as crowded as UAE and tactically a ton better. No Portuguese people though.

I think Broe wants him.
It wouldn't make sense to leave the UAE because can't be the only leader or in the Tour and go to Visma to be Vingegaard's domestique.

Besides, Jorgenson is now going to Dauphine to be a domestique, not even to Switzerland like Almeida.
Probably at Visma, Almeida would´ve to be a domestique in more races.
 
Are Portuguese especially nationalistic? I have no idea, but only Portuguese people talk about how he needs Portuguese people in his team. I can see that as an argument if one is bad at language but otherwise it just doesn't make sense as an argument for me. Granted he seems to be somewhat bad at English so...
They all know each other well and there aren't many portuguese in the WT. It's a more confortable situation for him. Either way, UAE will likely make him the best offer.

I would like to see him at Ineos. If they do get the money from Total, they'll have more then enough money to pay for Almeida.