Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) hit back at João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) on Wednesday, calling out the Portuguese rider's hypocrisy after Almeida had publicly questioned Vingegaard's decision to withdraw from the UAE Tour earlier this season.
Speaking to Danish publication Feltet.dk after racing at Paris-Nice, Vingegaard said: "You shouldn't throw stones when you live in a glass house."
Almeida had criticised Vingegaard for pulling out of the UAE Tour after a crash and illness, a withdrawal that carried extra weight given the race's direct connection to Almeida's team sponsor. Days later, Almeida himself was a surprise late exclusion from the Paris-Nice startlist. UAE Team Emirates-XRG did not publicly confirm a reason, but Almeida reportedly contracted the flu ahead of the race's March 8 start, forcing the team to pivot to Brandon McNulty as their GC leader.
That sequence gave Vingegaard an opening, and he took it.
Almeida had shown solid early-season form before his absence, finishing second overall at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and third at the Volta ao Algarve. The illness prevented him from racing against Vingegaard directly, a development Vingegaard noted in light of Almeida's previous comments.
Vingegaard, meanwhile, is racing Paris-Nice without several of his biggest GC rivals. Tadej Pogačar raced at Strade Bianche on March 7, while Primož Roglič is at Tirreno-Adriatico. The Dane's primary focus remains the later part of the season, and his presence at the Race to the Sun is part of a measured return to competition after his disrupted start to the year.
The exchange adds a personal edge to a rivalry that has been building quietly between Vingegaard and the wider UAE Team Emirates-XRG roster.
Cover image credit: Billy Ceusters
