'I don’t feel very good on the bike at the moment' – Almeida post-Catalunya

João Almeida headed to the Volta a Catalunya hoping to prove form and build confidence ahead of the Giro d'Italia where he is expected to be sole leader of UAE Team Emirates-XRG for the first time. However, at the end of the seven-day race, the Portuguese rider could only log 38th overall, his best stage finish coming on stage 5 with 16th.

"I don’t feel very good on the bike at the moment," Almeida said ahead of stage 7 on Sunday morning. "Maybe I need to rest, understand what’s going wrong with me, and keep working hard."

Like several others, including Remco Evenepoel, and Tom Pidcock who was forced to abandon before the final weekend, Almeida crashed on stage 5 which dented his GC challenge, but the 27-year-old didn't pin his disappointing performance entirely on his misfortune.

"No, I was already feeling like this before the start," Almeida said of his form. "Maybe I need to do some tests and analyses. I’ll have to check with the medical team.”

Almeida is not expected to race again before the Giro, which kicks of on Friday 8th May for the grande partenza in Bulgaria.