Almeida powers Team Emirates-XRG to Swiss title before Giro d'Italia

ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)

UAE Team Emirates-XRG closed out a stellar week of racing by capturing the overall title at the Tour de Romandie, with Portuguese climber Joao Almeida claiming the general classification victory following a confident final stage in the individual time trial in Geneva. 

The team’s performance was further underlined by Jay Vine’s third-place overall finish to compliment his victory on Stage 3, the mountains classification win, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG securing the team classification.

Almeida said, “Of course, I feel very happy. The goal was to win the race. Unfortunately, I didn’t win a stage, but we were always in the front, and that’s what matters. I’m super happy for the overall win. I need to thank the whole team; they did a really good job, and we can be proud of it.”

“What counts is the last day, right? So I think it was the right day. To be honest, I was struggling the whole week; I was never feeling 100%, but I gave my best, and I never gave up. Sometimes it’s all about your mindset.”

The sixth and final stage of the Tour – a 17.1-kilometre individual time trial in Geneva – was won by Belgian time trial specialist Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–QuickStep), who delivered a near-flawless ride to claim the stage win. However, all eyes were on the general classification, where Almeida produced a measured and powerful effort to finish second on the stage, just 12 inches behind.

His Australian colleague Vine contributed mightily to the team's success this week. He claimed victory on Stage 3 to Cossonay after launching a decisive solo attack in the final kilometre. His aggressive riding throughout the mountainous stages earned him the King of the Mountains jersey and propelled him to third place overall by the race’s conclusion.

This Tour de Romandie campaign adds to the Emirati squad’s outstanding season this year, bringing their total number of wins to 37. The team continues to build momentum ahead of the Giro d’Italia, which will get underway in Albania next weekend.