


UAE Tour: Almeida delivers solid ITT in the desert
Monday 22 February 2021 - 14:43Three Deceuninck – Quick-Step riders can be found in the GC top 10 after two stages.
One day after helping the Wolfpack blow the race to pieces in the crosswinds, João Almeida rose up again to the challenge and put in a strong individual time trial on the 13km course that took place on the flat roads of the Hudayriyat island.
Penultimate Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider down the ramp, the 22-year-old Portuguese put in a solid effort despite the course not being completely to his liking, and after setting the ninth fastest time at the checkpoint, he upped the tempo and concluded the race’s sole stage against the clock in 14:26. An average speed a shy over 54km/h helped João slot into the top 10 at the finish, a result that propelled him to second overall, just a handful of seconds behind the new leader of the UAE Tour.
“Today was very windy, but I gave everything out there and I am really happy with my effort. It’s my first race of the season and it’s a nice feeling to know I’m on the podium after two hard stages. We are in a good position for the first summit finish and we’ll continue like this, taking it day by day and seeing where that leads us”, said Almeida, the new holder of the points jersey, after his sixth place on Monday’s stage.
Mattia Cattaneo was another rider to produce a great time trial which saw the experienced Italian move up several places on the general classification. Cattaneo is now fourth, making him one of the three Deceuninck – Quick-Step delegates in the top 10 overall, with Michael Mørkøv rounding out the list in ninth position.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele/Getty Images
Race details
1 |
Filippo Ganna INEOS Grenadiers |
13:56 |
2 |
Stefan Bissegger EF Education - Nippo |
0:14 |
3 |
Mikkel Bjerg UAE-Team Emirates |
0:21 |
4 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
0:24 |
5 |
Luis León Sánchez Gil Astana - Premier Tech |
0:30 |
6 |
João Almeida
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
0:30 |
7 |
Max Walscheid Team Qhubeka ASSOS |
0:32 |
8 |
Stefan de Bod Astana - Premier Tech |
0:33 |
9 |
Daniel Felipe Martínez Poveda INEOS Grenadiers |
0:36 |
10 |
Matthias Brändle Israel Start-Up Nation |
0:38 |
11 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
0:39 |
55 |
Michael Mørkøv Christensen
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1:13 |
59 |
Fausto Masnada
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1:14 |
64 |
Iljo Keisse
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1:19 |
69 |
Shane Archbold
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1:23 |
94 |
Sam Bennett
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1:44 |
1 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
4:00:05 |
2 |
João Almeida
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
0:05 |
3 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
0:18 |
4 |
Chris Harper Team Jumbo-Visma |
0:33 |
5 |
Adam Yates INEOS Grenadiers |
0:39 |
6 |
Neilson Powless EF Education - Nippo |
0:41 |
7 |
Anthony Roux Groupama - FDJ |
0:45 |
8 |
David Dekker Team Jumbo-Visma |
0:46 |
9 |
Michael Mørkøv Christensen
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
0:47 |
10 |
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen Trek - Segafredo |
0:48 |
13 |
Fausto Masnada
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
0:55 |
14 |
Shane Archbold
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1:04 |
71 |
Iljo Keisse
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
9:26 |
99 |
Sam Bennett
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
9:51 |
1 |
João Almeida
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
23 pt |
2 |
Filippo Ganna INEOS Grenadiers |
20 pt |
3 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
19 pt |
4 |
David Dekker Team Jumbo-Visma |
16 pt |
5 |
Stefan Bissegger EF Education - Nippo |
16 pt |
6 |
Michael Mørkøv Christensen
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
14 pt |
7 |
Mikkel Bjerg UAE-Team Emirates |
12 pt |
8 |
Emīls Liepiņš Trek - Segafredo |
9 pt |
9 |
Elia Viviani Cofidis, Solutions Crédits |
7 pt |
10 |
Luis León Sánchez Gil Astana - Premier Tech |
7 pt |
11 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
6 pt |
18 |
Fausto Masnada
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
1 pt |
1 |
Tadej Pogačar UAE-Team Emirates |
4:00:05 |
2 |
João Almeida
Deceuninck - Quick Step |
0:05 |
3 |
Neilson Powless EF Education - Nippo |
0:41 |
4 |
David Dekker Team Jumbo-Visma |
0:46 |
5 |
Mattias Skjelmose Jensen Trek - Segafredo |
0:48 |
6 |
Mikkel Bjerg UAE-Team Emirates |
0:54 |
7 |
Filippo Ganna INEOS Grenadiers |
8:07 |
8 |
Stefan Bissegger EF Education - Nippo |
8:21 |
9 |
Stefan de Bod Astana - Premier Tech |
8:40 |
10 |
Daniel Felipe Martínez Poveda INEOS Grenadiers |
8:43 |
1 | UAE-Team Emirates | 12:00:52 |
2 | Deceuninck - Quick Step | 0:45 |
3 | Trek - Segafredo | 1:18 |
4 | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | 3:38 |
5 | Team Jumbo-Visma | 9:10 |
6 | INEOS Grenadiers | 16:52 |
7 | EF Education - Nippo | 17:02 |
8 | Bahrain - Victorious | 18:02 |
9 | Groupama - FDJ | 18:21 |
10 | Astana - Premier Tech | 25:31 |
Top results
1 |
Filippo Ganna INEOS Grenadiers |
13:56 |
2 |
Stefan Bissegger EF Education - Nippo |
0:14 |
3 |
Mikkel Bjerg UAE-Team Emirates |
0:21 |