'I've improved every year' - Almeida primed for Vingegaard Giro showdown

Although Jonas Vingegaard is widely expected to announce his participation in the Giro d’Italia on Tuesday, his chief rival João Almeida has expressed confidence that he can claim the pink jersey in Rome on May 31.

Almeida was last month confirmed as UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s leader for the Giro, where he placed third overall in 2023. He will draw belief from how he pushed Vingegaard all the way at last year’s Vuelta a España, placing second overall behind the Dane.

“The objective for the Giro will be to win it, and I’ll do everything I can to make that a reality,” Almeida told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “At the Vuelta a few months ago, there wasn’t a big difference with Vingegaard. He was coming from the Tour, and he probably wasn’t at his best – but neither was I. I’ve improved every year, and I have the feeling that can happen again in 2026. I say that realistically.”

Almeida beat Vingegaard atop the Angliru on the Vuelta, and he closed to within 40 seconds of the red jersey after the stage 18 time trial to Valladolid, which had been halved in distance due to security concerns amid protests over Israel-Premier Tech’s participation.

Vingegaard would seal the Vuelta by dropping Almeida on the upper slopes of Bola del Mundo on stage 20, and the Portuguese rider would finish 1:16 down on his rival in the overall standings.

At the 2026 Giro, Almeida will be backed by a strong UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad that includes Adam Yates and Jay Vine, and he will hope the 40km time trial to Massa on stage 10 can play to his strengths as a rouleur.

Almeida came close to winning the Giro at the first attempt as a neo-professional in 2020, leading the race for two weeks before losing the maglia rosa on the Stelvio on stage 18. He would reach Milan in fourth overall.

“That was a pivotal experience for me,” Almeida said. “I was young, I had a lot to learn, and those three weeks were a great learning curve.” 

The following May, Almeida finished sixth overall behind Egan Bernal, while he looked on course for a podium spot in 2022 only to be forced out by COVID-19 in the final week. He would make amends by placing third behind Primož Roglič and Geraint Thomas in 2023.

Almeida took fourth overall on the 2024 Tour, where he raced in the service of winner Tadej Pogačar, and he enjoyed a fine 2025 season, with wins at Itzulia Basque Country, the Tour de Romandie and the Tour de Suisse.

Those displays have seen UAE hand him the role of leader at the Giro, while Isaac del Toro – second overall at the 2025 corsa rosa – will this year serve as Pogačar’s key climbing domestique at the Tour.

Vingegaard looks set to make his Giro debut in 2026 as he bids to complete a full set of Grand Tour victories, though a formal announcement will not come until Visma | Lease a Bike’s media day in Benidorm on Tuesday.

It remains to be seen what impact Simon Yates’ surprise retirement last week will have on the configuration of Visma’s Grand Tour squads, though it is understood that the 2025 Giro winner had not been pencilled in to defend his title this year.