Grigoriev – about the competition for Portuguese cycling teams: “Once there was a presentation at the Sporting FC stadium”

Russian cyclist Alexander Grigoriev, who rides for the Portuguese team Efapel, said that in Portugal there is strong competition between continental teams and football is involved in sponsoring cycling.

Grigoriev finished 10th at the European Gravel Championships in October.

— What is the current situation of cycling in Portugal?

— There are nine continental teams, there is a competition between them. This gives impetus to the development of Portuguese cycling. The main race is the Tour of Portugal. If you ask young local riders about their dreams, they will answer that they want to win the Tour of Portugal, not the yellow jersey of the Tour de France. This is their motivation for development.

— Tell us about the current team, is José Azevedo at the helm?

– He created it. There was already an Efapel team before, but it was a different structure. He created this team and the sponsor came to this project.

— I know that in Portugal, cycling teams are sometimes even associated with football clubs.

– Yes, such a thing exists. I was in a team whose sponsor was the Sporting football team. It all depended on football, football money. We had a presentation twice at the Sporting stadium. It was interesting,” Grigoriev said in an interview with .

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