If there ever was a rider who needed a little good luck, it's João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). The 28-year-old's 2026 season has been one misfortune after another.
But after coming to a stop in the mixed zone after dropping out of the World Championships road race in Montreal, Almeida had a small red and black polka dot passenger on his left shoulder - a ladybug (or ladybird) - often considered a sign of good luck. Perhaps it means his fortunes will make a turn for the better.
"I hope you stay here with me," Almeida said to the little beetle after Cyclingnews pointed it out.
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The elite men's road race in Montreal had brought no signs that the Portuguese rider was on the mend. He was dropped on lap 7 of 12 of the hilly 13.3km circuit which normally would be his favoured terrain.
"I felt really bad, actually, since the start," Almeida said. "I just didn't feel good at all today."
It has been a familiar refrain. In March, João Almeida was already searching for answers for why he felt so bad during the Volta a Catalunya. He'd started his season well, with podiums in the Volta Comunitat Valenciana and Volta ao Algarve, but ever since he had to cancel his participation in Paris-Nice due to flu-like symptoms, the whole season has been a struggle.
He had to remove the Giro d'Italia from his calendar in April. Then, even before his lacklustre performance in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, he'd already abandoned his plans to race the Tour de France in support of Tadej Pogačar. Instead, he took two months away from competition only to crash on his comeback at the Tour de Pologne.
For a rider who has two Grand Tour podiums and has been as high as fourth overall in the Tour de France, the lack of results is baffling.
"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 seemed to catch a little bit of Almeida's curse, with Pogačar crashing out while leading the Vuelta on stage 8, and the team losing three others along the way.
There was one glimmer of hope, however. Almeida was third-fastest in the stage 18 individual time trial in the Vuelta, which gives him some belief he will overcome his problems.
"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.
"I will do everything I can, like always. I will work hard to be back to normal and hopefully win some races."
Almeida is due to represent Portugal at this weekend's European Championships, and maybe he will show that the little spotted passenger has brought him some better fortunes.
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