João Almeida will not take part in the Giro d’Italia, it was revealed on Monday morning, after suffering from illness in the build-up.
After it was reported in the Portuguese press on Sunday, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider posted the news on Instagram on Monday. He was one of the top favourites for the race, alongside Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).
“Unfortunately I won’t be at the start of the Giro d’Italia next month as planned,” the 27-year-old wrote.
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“Sickness in the past months has affected my preparations too much and has meant I just won’t quite be ready in time which is a shame as it’s a race I love so much.
“We haven’t set out those new goals yet but that will be done calmly in the next few weeks…” he continued. “For now it’s time to first rest-up a bit and build things back up slowly.
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