INTERVIEW | "I really want to win is the Tour of Flanders" - António Morgado on dream race; Racing with Pogacar; Grand Tour debut at Giro alongside Almeida

António Morgado is a rider with a huge amount of confidence, and he believes that in 2026 he can take a big step. The Portuguese rider is going to be working now with Javier Sola who also coaches Tadej Pogacar; and has talked about racing with the Slovenian, his Giro d'Italia debut alongside João Almeida and even his dream race.

Morgado was in a relaxed mood coming into this year's training camp, his third season with UAE Team Emirates - XRG, where he forms a Portuguese block together with Ivo Oliveira, Rui Oliveira and João Almeida. He has had almost his entire schedule for 2026 outlined right from the get go:

"I'm going to start with last year, I'm going to start with these two classics in this area (Classica Cam de Morvedre and GP Castellón, ed.), [Volta a] Valencia, then I'll do Mallorca, Algarve, some classics," Morgado told CyclingUpToDate and TopCycling. He confirmed he will be present too at the Figueira Champions Classic. "Then Giro, Austria, Germany (Deutschland Tour, ed.)... I'm going to start Luxembourg, then I'm going to do a few races in Italy".

His training partner - both in Andorra and at home in Portugal - Almeida is going to be a rider with whom he will work with this year, as he makes his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia. "Yes, I think it's this year. I hope to be on João [Almeida]'s side, at the highest level".

He is going on full domestique role, hoping to learn from the experience, help his compatriot and also evolve from the intense work load that is required from a three-week race. "The Giro d'Italia is a race where I go there to learn and to help João 100%. I'm not going with the ambition winning [for myself]. I'm just there to help and I hope to be in a great shape. It's an opportunity I'm going to experience. I'm very happy with the opportunity".

Morgado revealed to CyclingUpToDate the majority of the team's lineup for the Corsa Rosa: "I don't know much about it, but I think Jan Christen, [Igor] Arrieta, a young team... Florian [Vermeersch]". Adding to that, we can confirm that both Adam Yates and Jay Vine will also be at the start, whilst the final rider in the lineup is unlikely to have been decided already.

The Portuguese guy, a puncheur by nature, has impressed immensely in 2024 by finishing fifth at the Tour of Flanders, racing from back to front throughout the race, in a strong display of endurance.

In 2025 he opened up his year with a win at the Gran Premio Castellón, podiums at the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana and Trofeo Calvia; and a very popular win at the Figueira Champions Classic - Portugal's number one one-day race. He was also third at De Brabantse Pijl behind Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert. The second half of his year lacked the results, but that is explained by personal and health issues he encountered.

"I had too many problems. People who know, they know... Then the time trial national championships, it was complicated. An unfortunate event cost me a month of good work, then covid and stomach issues... But my goal was to recover, and I think I'm better now, and I'm more prepared for the next season".

This also means a big change in how he prepares for the races. "Yes, I've changed my coach. He's been with me for three years. I think that's a big change for me". Morgado is now going to work with Javier Sola, the coach that is also responsible for Tadej Pogacar's evolution from 2024 onwards. "I think it was an important change. It's going to start a good chapter for the team. I think it fits more to type of training, it's something I've always wanted, I'm very happy finally I'm able to train with Javier Sola".

He recalls his victory at Figueira, perhaps the highlight of his 2025 season. There, he won with a solo attack on the penultimate climb of the day, despite being a marked man from the start. "I knew that if I didn't make it to the sprint, I would beat [Paul] Magnier. I had to do something, no-one wanted to do anything, so I attacked and went. There are times when we all have good days, and bad days, it was a good day, and I was able to take advantage of it. Of course there are also days when you're fine and you're left behind".

Morgado's offensive racing style is a trademark of his already, and his explosivity is noteworthy in a peloton where puncheurs are slowly losing relevance. "Of course I like to attack, but to attack I have to be physically well too. Of course I like to be offensive, but if I know that if I'm not offensive, I'm not going to win the race. I know that if I'm a group that favours me in a sprint I will try. But of course, when I feel well I like to be alone, I like to be in small groups, I like to go to the maximum. But of course there are times when the team's tactics doesn't fit with that, or we have to stay in the wheel".

Despite being only 21, and being far from the top of the UAE hierarchy, Morgado sets himself up with high ambitions. "Last year was a mix, I almost achieved a goal at the time, which was to reach the 1000 [UCI] points, a bit weird goal, but to reach the 1000 points and end up in the top 100. And that's it, it's not easy to win when you're a cyclist. No, when I'm in the public, people think it's easy to win, it's very complicated... I won three races, but it's not yet what I want".

What does he want then? The answer is surprising, for a rider from a country without a history in the cobbled classics. "I want to be a winner, I don't care if its rolling races or uphill races, I want to win. It's what motivates me and what I want to do. I want to be a killer, just go there and win. A race I really want to win is the Tour of Flanders, as soon as possible". He jokes that now he does like the cobbles, but those of Flanders specifically.

"I'm going to do a few races in Belgium," he says, confirming Flanders is again in his schedule. He has finished fifth there two years ago, "but we didn't have the best rider in the world (he refers to Pogacar, ed.). Now I'm very proud to help him. Now I'm very proud to help him" And the Portuguese has no doubt that in Roubaix, it is inevitable that the World Champion will eventually succeed. "He's going to win one day, for sure".

Is the dream of being a top stage-racer or climber gone? "I don't know, a person can never predict the future, but I think if I can get to the level that my coaches and I think we've already reached, I'll be able to help João in some stages [at the Giro]. I'm one of the first to get to work, but I think I can do good things". Being a good climber will matter, but Morgado wants to play a role regardless of what terrain it is.

"Of course, if I can make a difference between João winning the Giro or making that goal, of course I'll give everything for him. If it's to work, I work, and that's what it is". For this, he will also undergo specific training to adapt to the Giro's brutal ascents. "The plan is to lose weight from now on. Now I'm coming back from vacation... I've been here before, I know I can do it. I haven't lost weight in the last few years". .

Morgado raced Flanders and Paris-Roubaix with Tadej Pogacar this spring, but doesn't see him as a person out of the ordinary, regardless of his status in the peloton and sports as a whole. "He's a normal person. We're on the mission to win. We know you're going for it".

After joining the team for the 2024 season, Morgado famously climbed alongside Pogacar during one of the team's training camps, impressing those around him. He looks back at that moment, before he even raced with the UAE colours for the first time: "I think they looked at me in a different way. They tried to crack me a bit but they ended up cracking themselves. I think they started looking at me with respect, which I think is necessary. But I think they will still respect me more".

Lastly he also talked about the Alto de Montejunto, his local climb at home, which had a spotlight at the Volta a Portugal this year: "Yes, it's the mountain that I grew up in. I love that feeling, I spend a lot of time there, and I'm going to spend a lot of time there. And it's a feeling, so it's a pleasure to be there. I can do the same work on another mountain, but I've never really enjoyed it... That little bit, about 10 minutes..." Morgado climbs through the Vila Verde side, joking that he has the KOM, not Almeida, with about 13 minutes of climbing. "I go to the most constant one, that's where I do my intervals. That's where me and João do our intervals".