Almeida within a whisker of top podium step after Poland TT

Joao Almeida put in a fast performance against the clock to take 2nd place in the individual time-trial today on stage 6 of the Tour de Pologne in Katowice (16.6km).

The 24 year old put in a time of 19:23 with an average speed of 51.3kmph, just 12 seconds shy of stage winner Mattia Cattaneo (Soudal-Quick Step). Fisher-Black, Wellens and McNulty all entered the top-10 on the stage to underscore the time trialling pedigree within the team.

Almeida now sits 2nd in the GC on the same time as Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious) heading into the final stage tomorrow from Zabrze to Kraków (166.6km). UAE Team Emirates also lead the teams classification overall.

Almeida : “I did the best I could in the TT, for sure it’s a bit frustrating to lose by such a small margin but I did all I could but Mohoric was better so chapeau to him. I can look back and ask myself if I could have gained the extra second here or there but in the end it doesn’t matter, I’m pleased enough with the result and for sure it’s always better to be 2nd than 3rd.”

Stage 6 results

1.Mattia Cattaneo (Soudal Quick Step) 19:10
2.Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +13’’
3.Geraint Thomas (Ineos-Grenadiers) +14’’
4.Finn Fisher Black (UAE Team Emirates) +16’’
5.Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) +17’’

General Classification after Stage 6

1.Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious) 22:49:07
2.Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) s.t
3.Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) +14’’