João Almeida already feels like the winner of the 79th Tour of Spain, after receiving on Sunday an “incredible” support from a “tide of people” along the 194 kilometres that linked Cascais to Ourém.

“It's incredible support, I'm speechless,” said a smiling João Almeida, at the end of the second stage of the Vuelta, in Ourém.

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The 26-year-old Emirati-Portuguese rider had a unique moment today, as he passed his fans in Caldas da Rainha, and admitted that he had the best stage of his career: “Without a doubt. For me, I am already a winner.”

“From the time we left Cascais until we arrived here in Ourém, it was incredible. So many friends, so many people. All the climbs are full of people. Speechless. Almost 200 kilometers with a tide of people. It's incredible,” he insisted.

The relaxed pace at which the second stage of the 79th edition of the Spanish Tour of Almeida was covered allowed him to catch a glimpse of some friends among the crowd, but not all of them, except that he heard them supporting him.

A-dos-Francos maintained tenth place overall, now 23 seconds behind the new leader, Belgian Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) who, despite finishing second on the stage, outpaced North American Brandon McNulty (UAE) thanks to bonuses.

“[Tivemos] Very strong headwinds, and it was also a difficult stage because of that, but it's part of the Vuelta. He noted that there was only one day left until the end, congratulating himself on having another unlucky ride.

On Monday, the Vuelta completed its final stage in Portuguese territory, a distance of 191.5 kilometres between Louza and Castelo Branco, and entered Spain on Tuesday.