Joao Almeida, a rider for the UAE Team Emirates, achieved an important victory in his career by winning the fourth stage of the Paris-Nice race. The uphill stretch, seven kilometers long, served as an ideal setting for a thrilling competition among the main participants of the race. Jonas Vingegaard from the Jumbo-Visma team made a strong attack two kilometers from the finish, but Almeida responded in his usual manner, accelerating to catch the leading group, maintaining a gap of about 10 seconds from a chasing group. In the final 400 meters, Almeida accelerated, caught up with and passed Vingegaard at the finish line, securing his 16th victory for UAE Team Emirates this season.
Almeida expressed his joy from this victory, noting that the day was challenging, with multiple incidents during that stage and even some snow on the track, but the team did not give up. The rider had to push himself to achieve victory, as the climb was not steep enough to break the group, but his efforts paid off. Currently, Almeida is in fifth place in the overall standings, trailing 37 seconds behind the new race leader, Vingegaard, who received the leader's jersey from his teammate Mattias Skjelmose.
