Joao Almeida has set his sights on both the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España in his first season with UAE Team Emirates, citing climbing and race technique as two key pillars of his Grand Tour development.

The 23-year-old from Portugal is only in his second year as a professional, but he has already established himself as a favorite to win the Giro for the third week in a row with two consecutive top six finishes.

After spending 15 days in the leader's pink jersey, he finished fourth late in the 2020 season, and last May he did the opposite, coming from outside the top 10 to finish sixth.

In both events, he improved his overall result against the clock, but with only 26 km of individual time trials in 2022, the Italian Grand Tour will once again be the focus of his season.

"It would be ideal if I could do more time trials, but that's the reality," Almeida told reporters from the preseason team training camp in Spain.

"After all, there is a lot of climbing, but overall in the Grand Tours, the main decisions are made on the climbs. In the time trial, you can move up one or two places.

Moving from Quick Step to UAE Team Emirates, Almeida says he has "basically changed everything" from his bike and equipment to his training and nutrition plan. He is now working with Inigo San Milan, who also coaches his new teammate Tadei Pogachar, and has already changed things up.

"The training plan is different from what I was used to with my previous coach at Quick Step. The type of training and the way I approach racing is different, but it's good and it's positive," Almeida said.

He declined to go into specifics, saying that "the training is pretty personal," but suggested that improving the uphill was a top priority.

"In a Giro like this one, of course, the focus is on the climbs and not so much on the TT.

Another area in which Almeida sees room for improvement is race carrying. He explained that he has learned valuable lessons from his two Giro appearances, even if they are not necessarily coachable.

"I made some mistakes. Sometimes I attacked for no reason. But maybe I needed to attack more.

"Don't be too smart or too clever. Read the races better, understand your opponents. ...... That comes naturally as you gain experience in each race. So far it's working, but there's always more to learn and improve.

Almeida will make his "home" debut with his new team at the UAE Tour in February, along with Pogachar and the team's best riders. He will then take part in the Paris-Nice and Catalunya tours, followed by a high-altitude training camp in preparation for the Giro in Hungary on May 6.

After the Giro, Almeida will set his sights on the Vuelta a España, aiming to run two Grand Tours in one season for the first time in his career.

"I plan to ride the Giro and the Vuelta this year. Of course I have to see how I feel, but that's the plan and I think I can do it."

"Let's see which team I go with for the Vuelta. It's quite far away, but I can take a strong team."

Almeida was unsure if he would share leadership duties with Pogachar, despite the Tour de France champion's stated intention to head to the Vuelta after Pogachar's bid for a third yellow jersey. five-year contract in the UAE. Almeida, who signed the deal, clearly thinks he will be another leader with the support group rather than a domestique with the Slovenian star, but insisted he is happy to share the jersey.

"I feel very good. I'm happy to be racing with Tadej. He is one of the best cyclists ever. I can race with him, learn from him, and help him do well and win races. ...... It's good and it motivates me for the future."

As for his own ambitions, he revealed that compatriot and 2013 world champion Rui Costa is among the riders he will be responsible for leading at the Giro and other races.

"The team has great faith in me. I am still young and for a team like this to give me these goals shows that they really trust me," Almeida said.

"I have a good team around me. One is Rui Costa, who is also Portuguese. We have been training together and developing our relationship so that we can be strong in the races. I am still young and I can always learn from riders who are more experienced than me."

"I enjoy being with the team and it's a really positive change. The only thing I can promise is that we will work hard to achieve our goals, doing everything we can, sacrificing everything we can so that we can be in top condition."