INTERVIEWS | "João Almeida, wherever he races, is the favorite" - Portuguese teams and riders share thoughts on Figueira Champions Classic

At the Figueira Champions Classic, CyclingUpToDate and CiclismoAtual have been gathering feedback and information from the international but also the Portuguese peloton. We provide insight into the Portuguese scene as said by the sports directors of several top teams and riders.

This Sunday morning, we managed to check up on a rainy morning with Romain Bardet, Dylan Teuns, Rui Costa, Urko Berrade and Geraint Thomas. However, on the same peloton is a contingent of nine Continental Portuguese teams.

These include young riders who are motivated to race with the World Tour peloton, former World Tour riders who are happy to meet with their former teammates; and many sports directors with decades of experiencing racing and/or leading teams in professional cycling.

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Gustavo César Veloso (DS Tavfer-Ovos Matinados-Mortágua): "Here in Figueira, we're talking about another level, the race is of a high level, with 10 WorldTour teams and many pro-team teams, all of which have already competed for a month, and we'll only be the second [race day]. Our goal is to leave the best possible image as a team. We want to try to be part of the breakaway and see how far we can go, we want to make our presence felt, we have a team of contrasts, with 4 under-23 cyclists and 3 elites.

This is a tough race. To win it, you need to be very strong and even on a rainy day, João Almeida, wherever he races, is the favorite! António Morgado is also one of the main favorites for me. In general, I think the Portuguese will do very well, because they are racing at home. Ruben [Guerreiro] is also in good shape and will have the support of Nelson, who is a great worker and knows the terrain well. The WorldTour teams will set the pace, but then we have the pro-teams who don't have the responsibilities of the WorldTour, but know that they have riders who can beat them, like [Julian] Alaphilippe or [Urko] Berrade".

Américo Silva (DS Aviludo - Louletano - Loulé): "Our expectations, within the context of a continental team, are to be able to place a cyclist in the main group, which should have around 30 units. Logically, discussing the race would be too ambitious for us, because we know our size and our reality, but if we can place a cyclist in that group of 30/40 units, we will already consider our objective as accomplished."

"I would like to see António Morgado win and I think he has a very good chance, given the excellent form he is in, which he demonstrated with great performances in Spain. There is a large group of candidates, but for me the two main favorites are Julian Alaphilippe and António Morgado"

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José Azevedo (DS Efapel Cycling): "That's not what worries us, we're not going to race to be the best Portuguese. We have Joaquim (Silva) who had a good race here two years ago and finished in the front group. Tiago (Antunes) can also adapt well to this course, as can Pedro Pinto. Keegan (Swirbul), despite it being his first race, is in good physical shape, but he lacks competition and obviously that won't be in his favour. We have riders who can have a good race and finish in the front group, and that's what we want. To be the best Portuguese... we've never entered into those wars and we're never going to."

"If I have to name names... I think António (Morgado) has started the year very well, João (Almeida) too, Alaphilippe is always a very combative rider who adapts to this type of course. There is an Emirates cyclist, Jan Christen, who I think is another name to keep in mind. EF with Powless, Asgreen and Rui Costa. The general level of any World Tour cyclist, they are cyclists with a lot of quality. And sometimes the circumstances of races dictate".

José Santos (DS Rádio Popular - Paredes - Boavista): "We don't have big objectives in races like this classic, the Volta ao Algarve... Our expectations are to finish with the largest number of cyclists, try to be part of a breakaway and if we manage to finish with a cyclist among the top 25, I would consider it a very positive participation. The peloton is incomparable to the national races and it is in the national races that our focus should be, these races that are in a much higher category serve to give experience to young cyclists, to gain some encouragement, by racing alongside some of the world's top cyclists".

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Joaquim Silva (Efapel Cycling): "I haven't done this race since the first edition, we have to keep this result in mind, try to do our best and represent Efapel's colors in the best way possible. (on tactics, ed.) It depends, we have to take advantage of the opportunities, represent the team in the breakaway and try to show the team. We know that it is difficult on the final circuit, the WorldTour teams always get a better position and currently have more days of competition, which makes all the difference in relation to us. We have to take advantage of these races to evolve and show the team's colours."

"It was a very good winter! It's been a few years since I've had such a good winter, I'm confident. The weather helped a lot, drier, even though it was very cold. We worked well and the whole team is doing well in the season and with the accumulation of races, I think this will be noticed."

Lucas Lopes (Rádio Popular - Paredes - Boavista): "The team environment is very good, we are all very united and we are ready for war. As for me, it is my second race with professionals, I already had the opportunity to do one in 2023, at the Giro della Toscana, but I had a fall and didn't finish. So, it is a new beginning and I am very ambitious to get a good result. I want to make the leap, whether it's this year, in 2 years, but that's the goal I'm going to pursue."

"I'm going to the Volta ao Algarve with higher expectations, I do better in stage races, but even so, today I'm going to leave everything on the road to get the best possible result. In the Algarve, we're going to try to get into breakaways, fight for secondary classifications and we have 2 cyclists reserved to fight for a good result in the overall standings".

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