Video: Behind the Scenes of Borges and Bandeira's Portugese Championships Wins

The most important round of the Portugese downhill calendar took place this weekend in Águeda with the Miranda Factory Team athletes taking the Downhill National Championships in both Elite class, with José Borges and in the Junior class, with Gonçalo Bandeira.


ACTIB took care of the event’s organization with around 130 athletes in attendance. On Saturday, everyone had the chance to get to know the several changes made to the Bairradino course. With more than 2.2kms of track, it delivered some physically demanding sections, with big jumps and a highly technical finale, seeing riders clattering down the finish by the river.

On Sunday morning, the qualification runs saw our Miranda Factory Team athletes build expectations. Borges and Bandeira won their class, with Tiago Ladeira clinching a 4th place in the Elite class.


In the finals runs, Gonçalo Bandeira was the first one to celebrate his victory in the junior class. Tiago Ladeira finished in 5th place in the Elite class and José Borges – the last one going down - clinched the biggest trophy.

At the end, Borges shared: “I’m super stoked with this win, although it was never the main goal. I decided to be here due to the proximity of the race, being in the city from where my team’s HQ is and the track was my style. I chose an enduro bike which turned out to be crucial for the first part of the course and I can say I got an advantage on that section. I want to thank my team and all my sponsors. This title is also yours”.

After clinching this title in Águeda and will be representing Portugal in the 2019 World Championship, Gonçalo Bandeira said: “I’m quite happy for conquering the third champ jersey of my career. I want to thank Miranda, my whole family and friends. Now it’s time to focus on the World Cup, where I’ll fight to be on top 5”.


Tiago Ladeira concluded: “I felt good all weekend, chose good lines and I was fast. Unfortunately, on my last run, I made a mistake that cost me a lot of time. I also want to congratulate my teammates for their wins”.

Starting next weekend, the team will be present in the National Enduro Championship in Vouzela, while the next international round will be the Italian Downhill World Cup round – from 2nd to 4th of August, in Val di Sole.

Posted In:
Videos Riding Videos Jose Borges