Following multiple top-five results in the Vuelta a Espana and Giro d'Italia, the Portuguese rider has now completed his collection with a top-five at the Grand Boucle.

In the race for fourth place against Mikel Landa, the Portuguese rider found some advantage in the final 33-kilometre time trial from Monaco to Nice. However, the UAE Team Emirates rider ultimately defeated the Soudal-Quick-Step rider, placing him 21 seconds further back in the overall standings at the end of the day.

When asked to comment on Tadej Pogacar's six race victories in a post-race interview following the stage, Almeida responded: “He told me he was going to give everything, so I imagine he went all out.”

“This is crazy. Congratulations to him and congratulations to the team we did a perfect job, and we can be proud of what we did.”

It was Almeida's first time competing in the Tour, and he quickly established himself as a key member of the squad. He and Adam Yates were among the final men to support Pogacar as he made his way up the mountains to complete the Giro-Tour double, a feat not seen since Marco Pantani in 1998.

“It's very special to be part of this victory, I'm very happy that he did it. Today was a superb day.”

Author

A passionate Irish journalist with a love for cycling, politics and of course Portugal especially their sausage rolls.

Rory Mc Ginn