João Almeida - Bota Lume

[Bonimenier]

I don't get all the fuss. Almeida was 4th on the weakest Giro field in decades. IMHO he did not deserve full backing and has no right to complain (apart from Masnada who should have buried himself for Almeida on Stelvio last year). Remco ceiling is miles away from his.

It's the same situation as UAE with Pogacar and Aru. They were talking about Aru leading the team just to take pressure off Tadej.

What a bad comparison.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I don’t necessarily disagree with you, but there are some problems with this argument.

1. Remco has shown to be a massive talent. There’s no denying that, but has no record past one week. From Almeida’s perspective, why should everyone just be pushed aside for a guy who has never ridden or finished a GT? For all he knows, Remco could be Richie Porte- almost seemingly unbeatable in 1 week races, but a yearly catastrophe when leading a GT team. It’s more likely that Remco will be a great GC rider, but he hasn’t proven that yet, where Almeida probably feels like he’s already proven that he can at least compete in 3 week tours.

2. Lefevre doesn’t know how to manage a GT team. Any GT success they’ve had since the Pavel Tonkov era has been with riders who had to do it basically on their own or with minimal help. Mas and Uran were basically on their own in the mountains, and they had to compete with the other interests of the team. Nobody expected Alaphilippe to pull off what he did in 2019 in the high mountains.

I seem to distinctly remember Lefevre being quoted as saying that “if Mas wants to be paid and treated like a Top 5 Tour contender, then he should finish in the Top 5 of the TDF and then we’ll focus on him” or something along those lines.

That’s fine. However, Almeida was on the team then, and probably feels as though Remco is having everything handed to him due to his great success in such esteemed GC races as the Vuelta Burgos and the Tour of Poland.

Remco may end up in the Top 5 at this race, which is great, but regardless of the competition in last year’s event, Almeida probably feels like he deserved the support of the team going into this race. He never got that.

What does he think is going to happen when Remco rides the Tour next year? Alaphilippe is just going to lay down his own ambitions? He didn’t resign to be Remco’s water boy, and I’m pretty sure Lefevre told him whatever he wanted to hear to get him to sign on the dotted line.

So technically I agree with you that Almeida has handled the situation poorly, but I understand why he feels the way he does.

First of all, the entire team is a shitload weaker than anybody thought it would be. It's the most disappointing team by far. Initially i thought they could rival Ineos, but boy, even with a man down (Sivakov) Ineos is 3 times as strong. Cavagna is something of a bad joke in this Giro. Masnada and Knox could probably stayed at home and nobody would have noticed. Serry has been useful on some occasions, but i had thought he would have played a far bigger role (not in the least in the sterrati stage). The team simply wasn't strong enough to help two leaders, so when Almeida cracked early in the first week, it is 200% the sensible thing to do to focus on the guy who is not cracking yet.

He did go into this Giro as a co-leader at the very least. But he kind of blew his own chances early, and that's not the fault of the team or Remco, or Lefevere. The team, currently, simply is not good enough, so for really going all out in GC, either Remco needs Almeida, or Almeida needs Remco. Considering Remco was doing better, the hierarchy was clear. And yet it was already clear before Remco's comeback, before the leadership issues this Giro, he was already planning on leaving. So it seems cause and effect are reversed here. It's very likely the team knew he was leaving well before, and that the moment they need to bite the bullet, they will drop him and not Remco.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

As i suspected and mentioned in the Evenepoel topic i believe, it was not the decision of the team to give Evenepoel #91, but this was decided/asked by the Giro organization. A journalist of Wielerflits corrected some of the rabid anti-Evenepoel/Lefevere mob in the comment section:

----------
Nico *** 21 mei 2021 om 15:43
dit verhaal klopt niet. Giro-organisator RCS heeft Evenepoel nummer 91 toegekend, niet de ploeg
----------

Unfortunately, the guy's name is being censored. His name is actually Nico D.i.c.k.

 

[Froome]

Before the first uphill test Remco attacked intermediate sprints which means that the Team decided to bet on him right from the start. Plus, when Almeida had a bad day he did have any help from his teammates.

Portugues? Compatriota ah ah.
I think the team positioned Joao and Remco well before the bonus, but Remco was stronger.

 

[Pinot's goat]

I don't get all the fuss. Almeida was 4th on the weakest Giro field in decades. IMHO he did not deserve full backing and has no right to complain (apart from Masnada who should have buried himself for Almeida on Stelvio last year). Remco ceiling is miles away from his.

It's the same situation as UAE with Pogacar and Aru. They were talking about Aru leading the team just to take pressure off Tadej.

I agree with most of this however Aru did not have any chance of top 10 at TDF whereas Almeida did have a chance of top 10 here.

 

[carolina]

More words from João:

A BOLA

A BOLA, toda a informação desportiva. Acompanhe todas as notícias do seu clube ou modalidade preferida, para onde quer que vá.

www.abola.pt

"When you speak the truth with a clear conscience... my words can only bother those that won't accept reality. I'm here to work for the team and follow orders, but you need to understand that I'm human! And I have the right to express my opinion, whether you like it or not."

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Lefevere said in an Sporza interview today:

"Maar hij heeft uiteindelijk gedaan wat we voor de Giro hadden afgesproken: als hij achter Remco staat in de stand moet hij werken en de rollen zijn omgekeerd als hij voor Remco zou staan."

> But eventually he did as we agreed before the Giro: if he 's behind Remco in GC, then he has to work and the roles are reversed in case he'd be ahead of Remco".

 

[spalco]

But by leaving, he will be giving that up. Where will he go? To Bora? Where there is already Buchmann, Schachmann (for 1 week GC), Kelderman, Hindley (reportedly moving) and in 2 or 3 years there will also be Uijtdebroeks. So other than the financial benefits, the situation for him will not necessarily improve. Buchmann is clearly the better climber and will be 1st choice for the big races he wants to ride. For the other races, there is also more direct competition than at DQT.

In the end, it all hinges on how good Almeida turns out to be. He might think he's better than the XY-Manns and not worried. It seems he has a higher opinion of his prospects as a stage racer than Lefevbre, and apparently Bora also agrees or they wouldn't have given him an (assumingly) more lucrative contract. I don't really see it, but what do I know.

Having an ego is not necessarily a bad quality in a pro cyclist.

 

[Lefebre]

If your uncle is Patrick Lefevere, then you should learn how to write his (your?) name better.

Sorry but my mother didn't know how to write or read and she made a mistake when my name was registered.
However i love my uncle Pat, is a great person, one of the best directors in history.
I miss the days when we touched ourselves and change ours bycicles oils.
Sorry for any grammar mistake but English isn't my first language.

 

[Panda Claws]

Sorry but my mother didn't know how to write or read and she made a mistake when my name was registered.
However i love my uncle Pat, is a great person, one of the best directors in history.
I miss the days when we touched ourselves and change ours bycicles oils.
Sorry for any grammar mistake but English isn't my first language.

First person on my ignore list congratulations.

 

[Netserk]

I miss the days when we touched ourselves and change ours bycicles oils.

This sounds like poetry to me.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Lefevere said in an Sporza interview today:

But eventually he did as we agreed before the Giro: if he 's behind Remco in GC, then he has to work and the roles are reversed in case he'd be ahead of Remco".

Most likely because Evenepoel was going better than Almeida in training. There was some talk that R.EV was absolutely flying (hence I put money on him to win the Giro)

DQS figured Almeida would be facing a deficit from day one, I'm guessing.

 

[Bardamu]

looked like he had to wait for Evenepoel today

 

[Bonimenier]

looked like he had to wait for Evenepoel today

Sharp observation

 

[Eclipse]

Really enjoying the passive aggressive pacing to the line today.

Did the job he was asked but clearly could be going so much better

 

[Parrulo]

Really enjoying the passive aggressive pacing to the line today.

Did the job he was asked but clearly could be going so much better

Too be honest, by the time Remco dropped, he was also losing positions and not looking too hot.

He could have probably finished somewhere between Buchmann and Vlasov. That's like 7th to 10th best climber in the race which seems about right for him.

Still he looked much better than Remco and without having to wait for him, I think he would finish the Giro ahead of him even with the 4 minutos lost on stage 4.

 

[carolina]

If they change leadership he might still get top 10.

Remco is doing great, but trying for the top 10 starts to seem unreasonable. If it continues like this he will lose the top 10 and Almeida will be to far to recover in the GC.

 

[Bonimenier]

If they change leadership he might still get top 10.

Remco is doing great, but trying for the top 10 starts to seem unreasonable. If it continues like this he will lose the top 10 and Almeida will be to far to recover in the GC.

Who outside the top 10 is really performing better than him? 11th and 12th are Foss and Valter who did worse today. 13th and 14th are Martin and Almeida who are more than 4 minutes behind.

 

[Eclipse]

Too be honest, by the time Remco dropped, he was also losing positions and not looking too hot.

He could have probably finished somewhere between Buchmann and Vlasov. That's like 7th to 10th best climber in the race which seems about right for him.

Still he looked much better than Remco and without having to wait for him, I think he would finish the Giro ahead of him even with the 4 minutos lost on stage 4.

For sure, but I think that would have been very respectable. We know he's not a true climber.

I didn't just mean today though, he's had to sacrifice time on several occasions now and he would be a lot closer to recovering a top 10 already if he wasn't being asked to drop all the time. He'll probably still get there by the end of the race if he doesn't have to babysit.

 

[PhiLiz]

Again doing a bad job. Just offered his wheel, he didn't even bothered to push Evenepoor up the Zoncolan! I'm sure the Belgian would have finished up there with Bernal had he done so...

 

[carolina]

And today he already had to work after the descent to bring Remco to the peloton. He climbed better then I expected.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

The team is just so weak. Only one climb, and Almeida only had Serry to close the gap for Evenepoel. Where was Knox, Honoré? They should always have been there and together with Serry they should have closed that gap, so that Almeida wouldn't have to waste energy.

He was great today. To bad he lost those 5 minutes so early, but he was never going to take any time back on Bernal etc. I would like to see him attack. He's 8m30s down in GC, he should be getting some leeway from Ineos etc. At the moment it doesn't look like Evenepoel is going to podium anyway, and maybe Knox can get off his ass and try to get over a hill for once.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

For sure, but I think that would have been very respectable. We know he's not a true climber.

I didn't just mean today though, he's had to sacrifice time on several occasions now and he would be a lot closer to recovering a top 10 already if he wasn't being asked to drop all the time. He'll probably still get there by the end of the race if he doesn't have to babysit.

When did he lose time due to helping Remco other than in the Montalcino stage and today? He might have lost 1m30s less then, and 30s less today, realistically. That's 2 minutes. That would put him at 12th spot in GC at 6m30s from Bernal now.

 

[Eclipse]

When did he lose time due to helping Remco other than in the Montalcino stage and today? He might have lost 1m30s less then, and 30s less today, realistically. That's 2 minutes. That would put him at 12th spot in GC at 6m30s from Bernal now.

Which would put him much closer to already salvaging top 10 after the early disaster no?

I hope he can recover - I know top 10 is often sniffed at but for someone trying to confirm themselves as a GC rider after a breakout it would be a good accomplishment to show he can fight back to deliver it

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Which would put him much closer to already salvaging top 10 after the early disaster no?

I hope he can recover - I know top 10 is often sniffed at but for someone trying to confirm themselves as a GC rider after a breakout it would be a good accomplishment to show he can fight back to deliver it

You were saying he had to "drop all the time". There have been exactly two stages where he had to do that, and it cost him about 2 minutes. He would probably still be behind Evenepoel (who would have lost a bit more time obviously). It's a shitty situation for him, but that's how it works. It's not the first time a domestique appears as good or better than his captain. After the first week, it seemed like the best thing the team could do. Maybe by stage 16 we'll know that wasn't the case. Maybe João also has another bad day.

But again, the team is so weak, that's the biggest problem.