Almeida out of Paris-Nice after illness

After UAE Team Emirates XRG unveiled a Paris-Nice roster with João Almeida surprisingly absent from the squad, the Portuguese all-rounder provided some clarification for the schedule change on social media. "A few days after Algarve I got sick with flu symptoms and not being able to complete a training session until 4 days to the start of the race I don’t feel good and fit to race, especially such a hard race as Paris Nice," he wrote. "Today, I am back feeling healthy and my natural motivation to train and push myself is back but my fitness just isn’t there. I will focus now to be ready for our next goals which will be Cataluña and Giro!" [Instagram]