António Morgado: "When I have good legs, I can do almost everything”
🎙️ Cycling Report interview | The young Portuguese rider is searching for stability in a key season with UAE
I have my own personal likes and dislikes. There are people I get on with better, others less so, and good manners draw the social line between being able to hide it and spelling it out. Always with politeness. When in doubt, say good afternoon, it costs almost as little as not doing so.
António Morgado (21) is an atypical rider, but he does politely say good afternoon when he sees you. That’s something. He doesn’t fit within any traditional box like ‘climber’ or ‘sprinter’, and he always seems relaxed.
His palmarès is beginning to show what kind of rider Morgado is… or isn’t: one-day races suit him. Very well. Winner of the Figueira Champions Classic and the GP Castellón, as well as the national time trial title in 2025, during the last season he also stepped onto the podium at Trofeo Calvià, the Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana, De Brabantse Pijl and Ordizia. A proper haul, despite a poor end to the season.
Fifth at RVV in 2024 in his debut professional season, Morgado looks tailor-made for explosive finales, short climbs and cobbles, an infallible combination in modern cycling.
António Morgado has no great urge to define himself, although he does so unintentionally and with some charm. He meets me in the café of a Benidorm hotel, unhurried, calm, so relaxed. I like António Morgado. Quite a lot, actually.
Question: How are you feeling these days training in Alicante?
Answer: It’s a good atmosphere. I like this part of Spain. It’s hard, there’s a lot of climbing here, but I’m happy.
Q: I guess it must be hard following those trains…
A: It’s hard, but it’s funny also. It’s 50–50.
“The second part of the season was a nightmare”
Q: Tell me about your 2025 season, because you started with a win in Castellón but the second part of the year wasn’t that good.
A: It was a good year, a lot of experience, a lot of learning. I’m happy with the year. The second part was a nightmare.
Q: What happened?
A: I was a little bit sick many times. When you’re sick, it always takes two or three weeks to come back. And when I came back, I got sick again. It’s hard. One time it was like some kind of imbalance thing, and it was hard to see and to ride the bike. And then Covid and gastroenteritis… but it’s life.
Q: The day after you won in Castellón I spoke to you and asked what kind of rider you were, because that was an uphill finish, but you’ve also finished fifth at the Tour of Flanders. Almost a year later, what kind of rider is António Morgado?
