INTERVIEW Nelson Oliveira | Experienced Portuguese arrives at his 22nd Grand Tour: "The atmosphere is incredible, and I’m just as motivated as ever"
Cycling
Veteran Portuguese rider Nelson Oliveira is set to line up at the 2025 Tour de France, marking the 22nd Grand Tour of his illustrious career. Representing Movistar Team, the 35-year-old spoke to CiclismoAtual ahead of the Grand Départ in Lille.
For Oliveira, who hails from the Bairrada region of Portugal, the excitement of the Tour has never waned. "It’s another Tour de France — one of the biggest races in the world," he said. "It’s always special. The atmosphere is incredible, and I’m just as motivated as ever."
As the race begins in northern France, Oliveira has a clear role: supporting team leader Enric Mas during the crucial early stages. "Our main focus in these first days is to keep Enric well protected and in a good position in the bunch," he explained. "That’ll be my job."
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Stage 1 is expected to feature strong crosswinds, raising the likelihood of echelons and splits in the peloton — something Oliveira is keenly aware of. "There are some exposed areas, not very long, but enough to cause breaks in the group," he noted. "There’s definitely going to be a lot of nervous energy, especially among the sprinters’ teams fighting for the stage."
Remarkably, Oliveira heads into his 22nd consecutive Grand Tour without a single DNF (Did Not Finish)—a record unmatched among current pro riders. "Yes, I’m aware of that," he said modestly. "But it’s not something I’ve ever aimed for. It’s just the result of years of consistent work, good preparation, and — most of all — not having bad luck in any of them," the experienced Portuguese adds in conclusion.
As he embarks on yet another Tour de France, Oliveira remains a symbol of reliability and professionalism in the peloton — a quiet force in service of the team and the race itself.
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- So all those who went to watch, including all from abroad, waled there, spent nothing? Most places hosting events of the sort manage to make it worthwhile. If it was so obviously fruitless, don’t you think by now they’d have run out of hosting candidates? Why do you think the Tour can command such high prices for departure and arrival locations? If it didn’t bring anything locally they’d have to pay to get authorisation to use cities.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- What a travesty ! That little deviation did nothing to impede Brand !frieders307-11-2026
- I also wanne beat Pogacar in the tour but it aint gonne happen. Jonas unfortunately getting dropped by del toro and seixas several times this TDF and jonas team is very weak and joinas on way down, it aint happening thats clear. its also clear it only happened cause Pogacar was hurt and had a broken wrist that time everytime both full strenght its not close we just have to be honest about it :/miguel07-11-2026
- They do this but literally let cars on courses to run over riders.mij07-11-2026
- Looking at that photo she appears to be several feet from her. I’m not sure how that impeded brands sprint.mij07-11-2026
- I hope you are wrong but I suspect you will be proved correct. It might do something for Scottish tourism - although due to logistics the route skips the most spectacular parts of Scotland. It will bring in short term money no doubt, but will cycling overall in the U,K benifit? I doubt it. Even at £2 a litre the bits love thei cars,Cyclingsbestfan07-11-2026
- Lucky to not get disqualified
leedorney07-11-2026 - The road from Holyrood to Edinburgh Castle is a nice steady climb of just over a mile that is cobbled in many parts. (Very slippery if wet!) If the teams are going by one by one that will give fans an even better view of the riders up close than the castle esplanade.Cyclingsbestfan07-11-2026
- wtf dudemij07-11-2026
- big rival … ridiculous.Ketterechts07-11-2026
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