Joao Almeida

João Almeida is a Portuguese professional cyclist who races for the UAE Team Emirates squad. A rider for the general classification and a strong climber and time trialist, Almeida is seen as one of the best GC prospects of his generation with three top-10 finishes in the Giro d’Italia - including third place in 2023 - and a fifth overall in the Vuelta a España to his name.

A graduate of the Hagens Berman Axeon development team in the United States of America, the rider had a highly successful U23 career, winning the U23 version of Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2018 and finishing second in the Baby Giro during the same season.

In 2020 Almeida signed a two-year WorldTour contract with Patrick Lefevere’s Deceuninck-Quick Step team and the rider made an instant impact, leading the Giro d’Italia from stage 3 all the way until stage 18, when he finally relinquished the maglia rosa and dropped to a still impressive fifth overall on his Grand Tour debut. During his second season as a pro rider, Almeida finished third at the UAE Tour, and sixth in the Giro d’Italia, before winning both the Tour of Luxembourg and the Tour of Poland. At the end of the 2021 season, Almeida signed with UAE Team Emirates and despite a strong start to the campaign, he was forced out of the Giro d’Italia due to a COVID-19 positive test. He returned in the second half of the year and finished a highly creditable fifth overall in the Vuelta a España.

2023 brought a new level of consistnecy for a rider now establishing himself as one of the best in the world, with Almeida finishing on the podium of Tirreno-Adriatico and the Volta a Catalunya, before sealing third place overall at the Giro d'Italia. For much of the race, Almeida appeared a match for Grand Tour champions Primož Roglič and Geraint Thomas.

After becoming the Portuguese national time trial champion in June, Almeida's focus turned to the Vuelta a España, where he would challenge his Giro d'Italia rivals, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel for the podium.