This weekend brings one of the most keenly awaited moments of the offseason when Tadej Pogačar unveils his full upcoming race program at the UAE Team Emirates-XRG media day, but in the meantime, another top teammate, João Almeida, has revealed what will likely be the first two races on his calendar.
Talking at the Velo d’Or celebration last weekend, where Pogačar received the award as best male rider of 2026, Almeida said he’ll most likely be kicking off his season at the Figueira Champions Classic on February 14, followed by the Volta ao Algarve, running from February 18-22.
While both races have an obvious draw for a home rider like Almeida, the 27-year-old has something of a score to settle in the Volta ao Algarve, as he finished second in 2025 after a tough struggle against Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). His runner-up spot was also the first podium finish for a Portuguese rider in the country’s highest-ranked stage race in the UCI calendar since João Rodrigues won outright in 2021, and just the second top-three finish for Portugal in the Algarve in a decade.
Almeida then went from strength to strength throughout a landmark 2025. He claimed overall WorldTour victories in Itzulia Basque Country, Tour de Suisse, and the Tour de Romandie, as well as a second place overall – his best result to date in a Grand Tour – in the Vuelta a España and beating Vingegaard into second place on its hardest summit finish at the Angliru.
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