"He wants to become a climber like Wout" - António Morgado's unusual goal as said by UAE soigneur

António Morgado is one of the most unusual riders in the peloton, and always an interesting figure as said by others. One of UAE Team Emirates - XRG's soigneurs has talked about the 'moustache man's' Tour of Flanders debut, habits behind the scenes and how he wants to become a rider like Wout van Aert.  

"He wants to become a climber, like Wout van Aert. No, he really said that Wout is his idol and that he wants to become a climber like Wout," UAE Soigneur Chris de Vos shared with De Rode Lantaarn. "I spoke to him and said that Wout is a classics rider, but he said 'no, no, Wout won a stage in the Tour de France with Mont Ventoux in it twice, so he is a climber.'"

Van Aert is a rider who thrives in the classics and when in good form, has the capacity to climb extremely well. Morgado does not have the time-trialing, but has shown raw quality for the classics, being a very strong puncheur and is even showing great abilities to sprint. In a certain way, although through a completely different path, the similarities between the two are growing by the year.

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Morgado is a rider that in his under-23 years wanted to become a climber, however in his first year with the Emirati team it's become clear that his talent lies elsewhere. Morgado was vocal last year on how much he didn't enjoy racing in the cobblestones, but at 20 years of age he finished on the Top5 of his debut at the Tour of Flanders, coming from a nation with no tradition in these races. "That's one of his sayings, yes. But he rides over it quickly. He's a rider for the Tour of Flanders."

The most incredible detail was the fact that the youngster struggled with positioning at the base of every climb in Flanders, but would always manage to go through a lot of the peloton until he found himself back in the groups chasing Mathieu van der Poel. "I'm thinking of a story by Nils Politt. He said 'Morgado came to me seventy kilometers from the finish and told me not to wait for him. He would see me on the bus.' At eight hundred meters from the finish Politt looked back and then Morgado was on his wheel, haha."

De Vos compared Morgado to former team rider Jasper Philipsen, albeit in a detail that wouldn't initially be considered. "The similarity is in the nonchalance. Open the door to your room and you see the same thing twice. They're both really good, but when you enter their room you don't know where to put your feet. Everything is strewn around, there's little order. But put them on a bike and they're unstoppable."

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