{"id":204529,"date":"2026-01-13T09:35:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T09:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=204529"},"modified":"2026-01-13T09:35:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T09:35:28","slug":"the-goal-for-the-giro-is-to-win-it-joao-almeida-vows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/01\/13\/the-goal-for-the-giro-is-to-win-it-joao-almeida-vows\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe goal for the Giro is to win it:\u201d Jo\u00e3o Almeida Vows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jo\u00e3o Almeida has made his intentions unmistakably clear ahead of the 2026 Giro d\u2019Italia, setting his sights on overall success as he prepares to lead UAE Team Emirates-XRG in May\u2019s Corsa Rosa. The 27-year-old Portuguese rider is stepping out from support roles of the past and aiming for the sport\u2019s grandest prizes including a showdown with fellow GC star Jonas Vingegaard.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Almeida was confirmed as UAE\u2019s Giro leader while teammates Tadej Poga\u010dar and Isaac del Toro target the Tour de France, with Adam Yates and Jay Vine rounding out the squad. He arrives at the Giro off the back of an eye-catching 2025 season, which included victories at the Tour de Suisse, Tour de Romandie and Itzulia Basque Country, and a second-place finish behind Vingegaard at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\n

Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport<\/em>,<\/a> Almeida was clear about his objective: \u201cThe goal for the Giro is to win it. I\u2019ll do everything I can to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his close duel with Vingegaard in Spain, he added: \u201cThere wasn\u2019t a huge difference between me and Vingegaard at the Vuelta a few months ago. He had ridden the Tour and perhaps wasn\u2019t at his best but neither was I. I\u2019ve improved every year and I feel that the same will happen in 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Almeida\u2019s prospects are underlined by his strong form and consistency. After a key crash forced him out of his domestique duties in support of Poga\u010dar at the 2025 Tour de France, he now has a clear shot at his own Grand Tour victory next season.<\/p>\n

Addressing his evolving role within the team, he said: \u201cI don\u2019t think Tadej<\/a> really needs me to win a Grand Tour. It\u2019s better to maximise our results and victories if we split. It\u2019s a smarter decision to do it this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Almeida also traced his Giro ambitions back to earlier experiences, emphasising his belief in what he can achieve in Italy: \u201cIf I\u2019m going back to the Giro it\u2019s because I think I can win it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On his early Giro memories, he added: \u201c2020 was a special year for me. I was young and had a lot to learn and the three weeks of the Giro were a great journey of discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

With rumours that Vingegaard is also poised to enter the Giro in 2026 to complete wins in all three Grand Tours, the stage is set for a thrilling GC clash next spring<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jo\u00e3o Almeida has made his intentions unmistakably clear ahead of the 2026 Giro d\u2019Italia, setting his sights on overall success […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":204531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[8805,402,4479,5450],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-204529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-2026-giro","tag-giro-ditalia","tag-joao-almeida","tag-jonas-vingegaard","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cThe goal for the Giro is to win it:\u201d Jo\u00e3o Almeida Vows - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jo\u00e3o Almeida has made his intentions unmistakably clear ahead of the 2026 Giro d\u2019Italia, setting his sights on overall success as he prepares to lead UAE\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/01\/13\/the-goal-for-the-giro-is-to-win-it-joao-almeida-vows\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u201cThe goal for the Giro is to win it:\u201d Jo\u00e3o Almeida Vows\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jo\u00e3o Almeida has made his intentions unmistakably clear ahead of the 2026 Giro d\u2019Italia, setting his sights on overall success as he prepares to lead UAE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/01\/13\/the-goal-for-the-giro-is-to-win-it-joao-almeida-vows\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-13T09:35:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/01\/Joao-Almeida-profimedia-1030816445-CVR.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"990\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"660\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tereza\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Monica Buck\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/01\/13\/the-goal-for-the-giro-is-to-win-it-joao-almeida-vows\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/01\/13\/the-goal-for-the-giro-is-to-win-it-joao-almeida-vows\/\",\"name\":\"\u201cThe goal for the Giro is to win it:\u201d Jo\u00e3o Almeida Vows - 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