Will António Morgado follow evolution path in cobbled classics? "It's a completely nervous race, there's not a lot of respect between people"

António Morgado impressed in the youth ranks and currently he is in his neo-pro season with UAE Team Emirates. Surprisingly, it is in the cobbled classics that he's performing at his best, but he tells once again that he is not a fan of the dangerous kind of racing he finds in the Belgian cobbles.

“All my life I have been a regular athlete in stage races. Last year I didn't go, because I was sick almost the whole year. Maybe in one-week races I can give it a touch," Morgado said in an interview with Portuguese Cycling Magazine. Then, this year he's doing a full cobbled classics campaign and even finished second at Le Samyn. However “I don’t really like the type of racing. It's a completely nervous race, there's not a lot of respect between people, and I like races with a minimum of respect. That's why there are a lot of falls, a lot of people out of action for 2/3 months because they broke an arm, like what happened to Rui [Oliveira].

UAE have scheduled him to race plenty classics both in and outside of World Tour over the past few weeks, and next up is a debut at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. But the Portuguese talent sees his goals elsewhere: "Deep down, I think these races don't really suit me... I survive, I get through and I try never to give up: I always try to get into the next group and the one after that.”

“In the long term, I would like to win a monument, and I would also like to fight for the top-10 in a grand tour," he admits. Over his developing years, he thrived in the longer races, as well as the hillier ones. It is fully possibly to achieve both these goals if the 20-year old continues to evolve the way he's been showing. "These are my main dreams and if I can ever fulfill them, I will be happy.”

Part of a very strong collective, he also tells of how he's trained with Tadej Pogacar - even being complemented by teammates, at times said to be the one being able to keep up with the Slovenian the best over some training camp rides.

“He is the greatest cyclist today, and one of the greatest in history," he responds. "When I'm next to a person like that, I get nervous and have great respect. But he is very good for young people”.