Joao Almeida: “This morning sadness filled my heart”

At a time when he was still in fourth place overall and still had a good chance of a podium finish, the Portuguese Joao Almeida was forced to leave the Giro after testing positive for covid-19., this Thursday morning. At the end of the day, the cyclist from A dos Francos felt disappointed.

“I don’t even know how to begin… This morning sadness filled my heart. Maybe it’s because I’m still young and I’ve never had such a misfortune, at the moment and under the circumstances,” he wrote. in social media posts.

The Team Emirates cyclist woke up with a sore throat and a fever and didn’t even compete in stage 18 of the Vuelta Italia.

“I love what I do, this is my goal. And even more I love Giro. For me, this is of particular importance. But I understand that failure is part of the journey, and I accept it. To move forward, I felt the need to come here to speak out rather than complain and thank everyone for their tireless support, especially at this time. I wish my teammates all the best until the end of the Giro. Time to recover and come back stronger,” concluded João Almeida.

Belgian Dries de Bondt (Alpecin-Fenix) won the stage this Thursdayin a limited sprint with Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz (INEOS), who remained in the pink jersey.