This time a year ago in Volta a Catalunya, Joan Almeida was rueing the loss of the leader's jersey when Ineos Grenadier tore the race apart on two mountain stages.

In 2021, after leading after the day two time trial, Almeida dropped to third place on the first mountain stage to Valtell 2000, which was won by Adam Yates, and seventh overall on the third stage to Porto Aine.

This time, however, Almeida, with UAE Team Emirates, put in a completely different performance in the mountain stages, winning the stage ahead of climbing stars such as Nairo Quintana (Alcare Samsic) and Sergio Iguita (Bora-Hansgrohe) He showed.

However, the lead is still out of reach for the Portuguese racer, with Quintana ahead of him in points. However, despite the fact that the remaining three stages are far from mountainous, Almeida told reporters after the race that he is confident of taking the overall win.

"Of course it is possible until the end and I will do my best," he said. I've been in this situation before and I'm going to give it my all until the end, even if it's a series of not so difficult stages."

In such a delicately balanced overall battle, Almeida is reluctant to show his strategy, from Friday's long climb to the coast, to Saturday's tough climb through the southern Catalan Sierras, to Sunday's relentless series of steep little laps through Parc Montjuïc. He declined to say which of the three remaining stages he would tackle.

"It's hard to say at the moment. It depends a lot on the weather and also on luck, like crashes. But if everyone is safe, that's the most important thing," Almeida said.

Still, Almeida looks to have a shot at fourth place overall, which could be his biggest result since his unexpectedly lengthy defense of his lead in the 2020 Giro d'Italia.

And although he crashed and hurt his hand early in stage 4, the accident proved to be no obstacle to his relentless acceleration in the final kilometers of Boi Tauru, and finally to his long-sought first victory for his new team, UAE Team Emirates.

"It wasn't easy to change everything," he said. 'But we've worked hard and this is the best result we could get. For the first time, I wanted to get a result. I think we met expectations and I'm very happy."

With teammate Tadei Pogachar winning the UAE Tour, Almeida finished fourth in the summit finish of Jebel Hafeet. The same goes for his fifth place on the Tourini Pass.

"I tried a little attack and knew that the last corner of the stage was very important, so I tried to get first there. Nairo was in front of me, but I managed to stay with him to the end."

On a day when UAE Team Emirates shined, Almeida noted a long breakaway with Marc Soler and an early move by Boi Taul that showed how many options the Middle Eastern team had at this stage.

"Then (Juan) Ayuso was there too, but he finally decided to go by himself. Overall, the team did a great job."

It is very difficult to predict how the last three days of the Catalunya Volta will play out, whether Quintana will hold an impossibly slim lead and Higuita will be right behind. However, when asked about the differences between this team and his previous team, Almeida, while diplomatic as ever, admitted that he has personally improved rapidly in all aspects with UAE Team Emirates.

"I have the same level of support as before, but for me the right thing to do for sure was to make a change," he recalled.

"We are better and much stronger than before. So this is the right way to go."

And a year after their defeat at the 2021 Volta a Catalunya, the evidence is clear for all to see.