"Grow some balls": Pidcock laughed off Almeida's anger

The ninth stage of the 2025 Vuelta a España left a curious and tense scene on the climb to Valdezcaray. While Jonas Vingegaard went solo to achieve victory, João Almeida and Tom Pidcock formed the chasing duo. However, the collaboration was not entirely smooth and ended in reproaches.

Almeida reproaches Pidcock in Valdezcaray: "He told me I had to give it my all"

Pidcock confessed what happened after the finish line with laughter: "He told me I had to give it my all". And with laughter, the British rider explained that Almeida, who set a punishing pace, demanded more involvement in relays: "I told him that if he slowed down a bit, I could follow him and take the lead. But he's like a tractor, on the flat section and especially in the last kilometer, he was impressive. I could barely pass him."

Almeida gave it his all, but the duo failed to neutralize the Dane, who had launched an unstoppable attack with 13 km to go and only Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) tried to follow. For several kilometers, they got close to just seven seconds, but Vingegaard's final acceleration ended up frustrating the chase.

 

 

 

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Pidcock, despite not being able to collaborate much, secured a valuable second place in the stage and a big leap in the general classification: fourth at 1:35 behind the leader, Torstein Træen (Bahrain Victorious), and just 11 seconds off the podium. "I'm happy. I wanted to fight for a stage win, but Jonas is Jonas and you can't give him any space. This gives me confidence for what's to come," he said.

On the other hand, Portuguese rider Almeida hinted at his frustration both due to the lack of help on the climb and the absence of support from his own team at crucial moments. Despite this, his resilience keeps him among the favorites for the overall victory.