Two years ago, when Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) took his first big step toward a Grand Tour on the Mount Etna stage of the Giro d'Italia, winning his first maglia rosa at age 21, he was realistic about how long his dream of riding in the pink jersey would last. I didn't know.

The answer was much longer than had been widely expected. Almeida, who took part in the opening time trial of the late 2020 Giro d'Italia in Palermo, moved up seamlessly in Etna to 11th place, just behind Wilco Kelderman and Vincenzo Nibali. This result was impressive enough, but even more so since he held the lead for another 14 days and eventually finished 4th overall.

Two years later, Almeida returned to the summit of Mount Etna as one of the favorites to win this year's competition. But while Almeida insists that "not losing time is the priority" on Mt. Etna, he also recognizes that the result he dreamed of on Mt. Etna in 2020 is a realistic and attractive possibility this time around.

"I did really well last time and I expect a good result again this time," Almeida told Cycling News on Monday, the first rest day of the Giro. [But there is no doubt that the other riders will attack."

"We will see tomorrow [Wednesday] because the other riders are strong.

Currently 11th overall and 29 seconds behind race leader Mathieu Van Der Pol (Alpecin Phoenix), the mild-mannered Almeida did not reveal what strategy he would choose if he could actually reclaim the pink jersey. As he said, his first goal is to defend what he has accomplished so far.

"If we do get (Maria) back, we will play our cards as well." And let's see what we come up with."

So far, Almeida's performance in the Giro d'Italia has been consistent but not earth-shattering. In the time trial on stage 2, he placed 11th in the middle of the main group. He also finished 14th in the uphill finish in Visegrad on day 1, which some might have thought suited his ability to maintain a high pace on a steady uphill.

As the race headed to Italy after three stages around Budapest, Almeida was pleased with what he had accomplished in Hungary.

But it was Italy that would make the difference between winning and losing the race, and Almeida hoped to at least be on par with the other contenders in Etna. And if Almeida can do better than that, even better.

"I like Etna, and the first time I went there I did quite well. My priority is not to lose time, but to gain time."