MONTREAL — João Almeida's miserable 2026 season continued at the World Championships road race in Montreal, where the 28-year-old UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider dropped out after being distanced on hilly terrain that would normally suit him. Yet a tiny red and black polka dot passenger — a ladybug on his left shoulder in the mixed zone — offered a symbol of hoped-for good luck.
Almeida was dropped on lap 7 of 12 on the 13.3km circuit and never recovered. "I felt really bad, actually, since the start," Almeida said. "I just didn't feel good at all today." After Cyclingnews pointed out the ladybug, he replied, "I hope you stay here with me."
The early exit followed a familiar pattern. Almeida started the year well with podiums at the Volta Comunitat Valenciana and Volta ao Algarve, but had to cancel Paris-Nice due to flu-like symptoms and has struggled since. He removed the Giro d'Italia from his calendar in April and abandoned plans to support Tadej Pogačar at the Tour de France, taking two months away from competition before crashing on his comeback at the Tour de Pologne. "I was just unlucky as hell, to be honest. I crashed in Poland, then I got sick just before Vuelta [a España]. So yeah, my consistency this year in terms of training was basically zero," Almeida said. "I'm always having setbacks, so it's hard to gain some shape like this."
His team felt the misfortune as well, with Pogačar crashing out while leading the Vuelta a España on stage 8 and three other riders also lost during the race. Almeida found one glimmer of hope with third-fastest time in the stage 18 individual time trial at the Vuelta. "The team supported me a lot, so I'm looking forward to give back some of their efforts and their trust," Almeida said. "It's been tough, but I'll make it."
Almeida is due to represent Portugal at this weekend's European Championships as he looks to reset. "I will do everything I can, like always. I will work hard to be back to normal and hopefully win some races," he said.