António Morgado will be Portugal's best bet for World Championships as Joao Almeida focuses on Ardeche

Portugal will line up with eight cyclists at this year's World Championships, which will make history by being held for the first time on African soil, between September 21 and 28 in Kigali, Rwanda. The National Team will only take part in the road race in the Elite and Under-23 categories, skipping time trial events and completely leaving out the junior and women's ranks, a decision that is the result of a preparation strategy for the European Championships, scheduled for October 1 to 5 in Drôme-Ardèche, France.

The proximity of the dates, combined with the distance between continents, turned the call-up into a logistical and physical puzzle, just like several other international teams. The Portuguese Cycling Federation was forced to define priorities in order to guarantee the best physical condition and careful management of the athletes' recovery in the face of a particularly tight competition schedule.

One of the most obvious examples of this strategy is the absence of João Almeida. The UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider, who recently completed the Vuelta a Espana, has decided to focus all his preparation on the European Championship. On French soil, he will be present both in the individual time trial, alongside Nelson Oliveira, and in the road race, making the European finish line his big bet at the end of the season.

For the elite road race at the World Championships, Portugal will have a determined quartet: Afonso Eulálio, Ivo Oliveira, António Morgado - who is making his debut in the top category after finishing second in the under-23 and junior races - and Tiago Antunes, the only representative coming from the national peloton.

José Poeira, the National Road Coach, emphasizes how demanding the call-up was: "This was one of the most difficult call-ups of my career. The fact that we have two major championships in consecutive weeks, on different continents, forced us to make very careful choices. Like other national teams, we chose not to take juniors or women to the World Championships, so that they can be fully fit for the European Championship. The course in Rwanda will be exceptionally tough, with altitude, humidity and an accumulated gradient of 5,000 meters. The challenge is enormous, but the team is motivated and totally focused on representing Portugal in the best possible way."