VIDEO INTERVIEW: Last but by no means least, Bruno Silva proudly represents Portugal at European Championship - "We're leaving here with a clear conscience and our heads held high"
CyclocrossPortugal's Bruno Silva was one of those who took part in the 2024 Cyclocross European Championship in Pontevedra on Sunday afternoon. Although he finished dead last, 4:45 behind the winner, Thibau Nys, Silva was relatively happy with his experience, as he said in an exclusive interview with our reporter afterwards.
"I felt at home today," he confesses to our Portuguese sister channel Ciclismoatual, in what was his third experience racing outside Portuguese territory. "It was an incredible atmosphere, I have to apologize a lot to the Portuguese because I was unfortunate on the first lap and I paid dearly for my lack of experience in this type of race," he concludes, not forgetting to thank the Portuguese public for their support in Spain.
But what exactly happened on the first lap? "When I jumped the boards the chain jumped in front of me, these are racing situations. In the middle of the confusion I hit a pothole. Maybe it was my own problem due to nerves," admits the 26-year-old Portuguese, who nevertheless came out of the race satisfied to finish within a lap of the winner.
"We're last, but we're leaving here with a clear conscience and our heads held high!" And that's no wonder, given the obvious difference in level between national cyclocross and international cyclocross. Even so, a result like this doesn't discourage Bruno from repeating the experience, quite the opposite: "Hopefully in Portugal we'll raise this level after our participation, get more of our professionals to do this type of sport in Portugal and grow the sport to see if in a year or two or even in a few months at the World Championships we'll be there with more people and more category to compete with the best"
Bruno Silva thus becomes the first Portuguese to take part in a European Cyclocross Championship. A new milestone in Portuguese cycling and one that could open doors to a brighter future in this sport that is attracting more and more fans!
Read also
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.
claps 4visitors 3
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment