The national champion Gonçalo Bandeira entered the new season in the best possible way, imposing himself this Sunday, April 11, in the first scoring race of the Portugal Downhill Cup (DHI), held at Pista do Arimbo, in São Brás de Alportel.
The natural runner from Lousã pulled his strings and didn't give the competition a chance. Right in the qualifying relegation he showed that he was better than his opponents, setting the best mark of the day, 2'43''955.
In the final, Bandeira was a little slower, with 2'44''412, enough to be the winner. Tiago Ladeira (Miranda Factory Team) was the closest rival and improved his personal mark between the morning and afternoon descent, finishing in second place, 687 thousandths behind Gonçalo Bandeira. Briton Brett Wheeler (MCF/XDream/Municipality of S. Brás) closed the podium, at 2,859 seconds.
The Bandeira family also stood out in the elite female category. Margarida imitated her brother Gonçalo and supplanted the competition. She completed the final descent in 3'36''503, 49,731 seconds less than Joana Nunes (House of the People of Abrunheira) and 59,582 seconds less than Marta Simões (CAJ Raposa), who completed the places of honor.
Rui Freitas prevailed among the juniors, with 2'55''182, 4,330 less than Mario Ruiz (Miranda Bike CC) and 21,130 less than Luís Cunha (Bike House DH Team/Guimarães). In cadets, Bernardo Rocha (AEBTT Rio/Mr. Print) triumphed. Nui Tai (Wildpack Algarve Racing) debuted the new children's category.
Among the veterans, the master 30 Rui Cabrita (Wildpack Algarve Racing), the master 40 Paulo Domingues and the master 50 José Salgueiro (MCF/XDream/Município de S. Brás) stood out. Wildpack Municipality of S. Brás won by teams.
The second competition of the DHI Portuguese Cup will take place in Boticas, on the 16th of May.
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