Portuguese Season 2010

Warning: This will be a long reading, so enjoy listening this song of Carlos Paredes, our best guitar player in the Portuguese Guitar.:)

This morning began the Portuguese season with the “Grande Prémio de Abertura – Pingo Doce” and the winner was Filipe Cardoso (LA-Paredes Rota dos Móveis), after a bunch sprint. Only for curiosity, he his cousin of our olympic silver medalist in triathlon, Vanessa Fernades.

One more year and one less professional team, like it was in 2009. The current crisis and the doping cases that occur year after year, have contributed to extinguish the best teams, and keep away the sponsors. After the LA MSS scandal in 2008, three important riders were caught with CERA: the “winner” of TdP 2009 Nuno Ribeiro, his teammate Hector Guerra and a stage winner Eládio Jimenez of CCLoulé team. This caused the finish of Liberty Seguros, and almost all the riders of that team manage to find another in 2010. The teams who survived have now much less budget for the season and because of this the majority of reinforcements, are young riders and some veterans like Castanheira, Carlos Pinho (who retired after 19 years in the professional Portuguese peloton), Krasilev, and Garrido were released. The percentage of Portuguese riding in our peloton increase substantially.

With less teams and consequently less professional riders, the races in 2010 have a decrease too. The Volta ao Alentejo who was a great show last year, and have Miguel Indurain as a winner in his curriculum, will not realize in 2010. Weeks ago the Association of Municipalities of Évora, announce that hasn’t funds available, the Association of Tourism of Alentejo said that will try to arrange for 2011. Volta a Portugal decrease to 2.1 in 2010, and so, the organization can invite foreign Continental Teams.

Let’s back to the teams:

Centro Ciclismo de Loulé:

Had a great season last year, with Jimenez and João Cabreira winning a stage in TdP and Cabreira finished in 4th, the best Portuguese rider. In Trofeu Joaquim Agostinho Cabreira won a stage and finished in 3th. It was a team without many wins, but one of the most aggressive (in the good way). This year and with a budget of 250 thousand euros, they will try to discuss the Volta a Portugal, but they realize that will be very difficult. Cabreira did a fantastic show in queen stage last year, he attacked early in the last climb but Ribeiro manage to recover and Cabreira paid that bravery at the end. Cabreira is our best pure climber, but he has to perform much better in the ITT, if he will ever win our major race. This year he will have new teammates: Zaballa and Celestino Pinho  from LA Rota dos Moveis, and Santi Perez (ex Madeinox-Boavista). A team that lost the combativeness of Jimenez but will have in Zaballa and Santi two good replacements.

Madeinox Boavista:

With many sacrifices and negotiations, the team will race in 2010 with a loose of 30 a 40% of the budget of last year, 450 thousands euros. They lost their leader Tiago Machado for RadioSchack, but Boavista will continue to bet in young riders like the new reinforcements: Ricardo Vilela, Marco Cunha and the Spanish Alberto Morras. Should be very difficult to repeat the 11 wins of last year, but maybe the young sprinter Cunha, and all rounders like Petrov, Vilela and the veteran Joaquim Sampaio.

LA Rota dos Móveis:

Last year in the middle of the season with the retired of Fercase (the ex-sponsorship) this team almost over, but thanks to Luis Almeida, the chairman of “LA – Alumínios e Vidros” a company that helped for many years the Portuguese cycling, and two years ago the LA MSS team. They helped this team and last week DS Mário Rocha states that is his best team ever, and i confirm :). They have new young talents like the ex-Libertys; Filipe Cardoso, José Mendes, Edgar Pinto and Hernâni Broco. For the sprints Cardoso showed today is one of the best sprinters, Pinto too. For the Volta, they have Rocha and Mendes, two young riders that someday will be one of the best Portuguese riders in stage races, they are good time trialists, and climbers too. Hugo Sabido (Barloworld in 2008), and Virgilio Santos should be the captains of this very young squad.

Barbot-Siper:

A team that are stronger, year after year, and the last was already good. Bernabeu managed to finish in 2nd in TdP, and Bruno Pires showed that is one of the best Portuguese climbers. The objective is the same, win the TdP but that should be difficult despite a better team. Pires doesn’t have the ITT ability, and Bernabeu are a bit old, but with the reinforcements of Rui Sousa (an experient climber who wore the yellow in 2008 when won in the Alto da Torre, the queen stage of TdP) they have a more balanced squad. For the sprints they have the younger Bruno Lima (ex-Madeinox Boavista) who should manage to win some stages along the season, and the all rounders Hélder Oliveira and Sérgio Ribeiro, winner of Volta do Estado de Sao Paulo (Brazil) in September of 2009.

Palmeiras Resort Tavira:

The best Portuguese team but with a smaller budget this year, had to release Garrido and Krasilev, two foreign riders that have rode around here for years. Without reinforcements, the main objective is win the TdP for the third consecutive year. Blanco will be the man for this, Candido Barbosa the B-plan, and probably will try to win a stage, a thing that he does year after year, since 2000!! For the first part of the season, the young sprinter Caldeira, and the climber Cardoso and Ricardo Mestre should have their opportunities to shine.

With a reduced calendar, the teams have to go to Spain, doing Vuelta a Asturias, Vuelta a Rioja and some classics like GP Lodio and Subida a Naranco. CC Loulé will ride Tour de Morocco like last year.

International Portuguese races:

17-21 Fev: Volta ao Algarve. 2.1

26-28 Mar: Grande Prémio de Portugal – Nations Cup Sub-23. 

10-13 Jun: Grande Prémio CTT-Correios. 2.1

7-11 Jul: Grande Prémio Torres Vedras/Troféu Joaquim Agostinho. 2.2

4-15 Aug: Volta a Portugal. 2.1

Maybe because of the money, or because of fewer teams and fewer competitive races in Portugal, this year we have six riders in foreign teams.

Manuel Cardoso is the men of the moment with already a win in TDU, and some nice places in Mallorca. He will lead the team in the Tour of Langkawi in March and already confessed that his main objective is to be selected for TdF. After this he will be focused in the World Championship in Australia.

Tiago Machado and Sérgio Paulinho are in RadioSchack and especially the first i think he can do some surprises. Paulinho i think you know him, he probably will be in the Tour, helping Armstrong win his 8th Tour, or Leipheimer his first!! (Ups, better not got this way)

Machado is very similar with Paulinho, but more aggressive. This maybe is a fact because now Paulinho doesn’t have many opportunities, and has to work for others. Machado maybe lacks in tactics, and here he is know by “Pica”, not easy to translate but a guy who always have many energy!!

Rui Costa is another hope for us. I saw his win in Mallorca and i felt some pity of Horrach, he worked so much!! Now is wait to T-A and expect that he can do big things. He will going to California too!

The silver medallist in ITT World Championship sub-23 Nelson Oliveira, headed north to Xacobeo Galicia. Finally, João Correia left the Bissel for Team Cervelo and already raced in the Etóile de Besseges.

So, i hope you enjoy this long reading, and wait for Volta Algarve preview tomorrow or Tuesday, the race began in Wednesday.