At the age of 25, the rider from A-dos-Francos finished his Tour debut in fourth place, surpassing the fifth place achieved by José Azevedo in 2004 and “getting closer” to Agostinho, the only Portuguese to reach the podium of the biggest international sprint race, having finished third in 1978 and 1979.
After last year being the first Portuguese to complete the Tour of Italy in the top three, Almeida today confirmed his status as the second best national tourist ever, by finishing the 111th Tour de France in fourth place, after being fifth in the final “chrono”.
The UAE runner also achieved an unprecedented feat: he is the first to appear in the top five in all Grand Tours, and he also finished fifth in the Vuelta2022 – and will move up to fourth after the disqualification of Miguel Angel Lopez.
His story in the “Big Three” began with a fourth place in the 2020 Giro, in which he wrote one of the most beautiful pages in Portuguese cycling, after 15 days as leader of the “Corsa Rosa” overall.
That year, more than just improving the record of José Azevedo, who in 2001, in the social role of the Spaniard Abraham Olano, was fifth – the same position he achieved in the 2004 Tour – the kid from A-dos-Francos (Caldas da Rainha) made Portugal dream of an unprecedented victory in one of the great Tours.
This was followed by a sixth place in 2021, a disappointment due to Covid-19 the following year, which he “recovered” with a fifth place in his debut at the Vuelta, a race in which he finished ninth last year.
Now, he is closer to Joaquim Agostinho, the greatest Portuguese cyclist of all time: the Torres Vedras rider, who died in 1984 after falling in the Vuelta a Algarve, took part in 11 Tours, with third places in the Tour remaining the most exceptional achievements in the national cycling sport.
Although his record includes a runner-up finish in the 1974 Vuelta, his performances in the Tour de France, where he also finished fifth (1971 and 1980), sixth (1974), and eighth (1969, 1972 and 1973), remain enduring in the collective imagination.
With today’s result, Almeida is still definitively behind Jose Azevedo, who also finished sixth in the 2002 Tour.
The Emirati runner doesn’t really know any other reality in Grand Tours than the top ten, except for the unfortunate incident in 2022, when he was fighting for the final podium of the “Corsa Rosa” and a positive result for Covid-19. 19 took him out of the race.
Portuguese in the top ten in the great rounds
– Joaquim Agostinho (11):
2nd place in the Vuelta in 1974
3rd place in 1978 Tour
3rd place in 1979 Tour
5th place in the 1971 round
5th place in the 1980 Tour
6th place in the 1973 Vuelta
6th place in the 1974 round
7th place in the 1976 Vuelta
8th place in the 1969 Tour
8th place in the 1972 round
8th place in the 1973 round
– Joao Almeida (6)
3rd place in Giro 2023
4th in 2024 Tour
4th place in Giro 2020
4th place in the Vuelta 2022*
6th place in Giro 2022
9th place in Vuelta 2023
– Jose Azevedo (3)
5th place in the 2001 Giro
5th place in 2004 Tour**
6th place in the 2002 Tour**
– Elvis Barbosa (1)
10th in 1956 tour
– Acacio da Silva (1)
7th place in the 1986 Giro
– Joao Rebelo (1)
6th place in the Vuelta in 1945
– Ribeiro da Silva (1)
4th place in the 1957 Vuelta
– Fernando Mendes (1)
6th place in the 1975 Vuelta
– Jose Martinez (1)
8th place in the 1975 Vuelta
* Fourth-placed Miguel Angel Lopez was disqualified for doping.
**Lance Armstrong was stripped of the win, leaving the race without a winner.
