The biography for Márcio Fialho has been written by the well-known American essayist, novelist, Lance Armstrong, from the USA Postal Services.
That requires a very big thank you.
‘’Ok, if I talk about my career, will you leave me alone?’’ Márcio Fialho said to the journalist while enjoying his snacks.
‘’Sure… shall we begin?’’ he asked. Márcio sighed and the interview began.
Márcio Fialho was born in Braga, Portugal. He revealed his father was from Brazil, and his mother from Lisbon, that was the reason of his surname, common in Brazil. Sadly he lost his father at the age of 6, and he grew alone with his mother in Lisbon, he remained in silence when he mentioned and quickly changed the topic, speaking about how he discovered his passion for the bike, ‘’When I was ten years old, my grandfather bought me a bike. At first, I left it in the garage fo...
Read moreThe biography for Márcio Fialho has been written by the well-known American essayist, novelist, Lance Armstrong, from the USA Postal Services.
That requires a very big thank you.
‘’Ok, if I talk about my career, will you leave me alone?’’ Márcio Fialho said to the journalist while enjoying his snacks.
‘’Sure… shall we begin?’’ he asked. Márcio sighed and the interview began.
Márcio Fialho was born in Braga, Portugal. He revealed his father was from Brazil, and his mother from Lisbon, that was the reason of his surname, common in Brazil. Sadly he lost his father at the age of 6, and he grew alone with his mother in Lisbon, he remained in silence when he mentioned and quickly changed the topic, speaking about how he discovered his passion for the bike, ‘’When I was ten years old, my grandfather bought me a bike. At first, I left it in the garage for months, until one day I missed the bus to go school. I had no choice but pick the bike, clean it and have a ride to school.’’
For sure, that wasn’t love at first sight. When he returned that day from school, he parked the bike and didn’t see it for months, ‘’One day, my grandfather and uncles came, they brought their bikes with them and they invited me to have a ride with them. When I saw my granddad wearing sport outfit, I had to resist the temptation to laugh,’’ he confessed. Márcio joined them just to see his grandfather fading away, but when he saw him keeping a high pace on the road, he couldn’t believe it.
That experience changed Márcio’s point of view about Cycling. A few years later, Fialho left school and joined the ACCP (Amateur Cycling Club of Portugal), winning several races across the country; mostly all round-sprint races. However, he began to shine on cobblestones, becoming one of the most promising talents of Portugal. Professional Romanian team ACAB, despite it wasn’t a team built for cobblestones, hired Márcio to do a beneficial deal for its economic.
The auction was wild, but team Comfius had the last word and signed him for just 85k. The Portuguese man joined his new team, led by the great cobble English star Lucas Loudon. He trained hard and fast to become Loudon’s main cobble helper, ‘’I am really happy to join Comfius, and help a world class rider like Lucas Loudon.’’ Those were the first words of Fialho as Comfius cyclist, manager Jempie was extremely happy.
The adapting to his new team and Top Division went well, and Márcio was ready at beginning of Season 39. Defining the goals and roles for each rider, the Portuguese was sent to Pre-Roubaix to lead the team and get in shape to help Loudon at TvA. Márcio, without top form, ended 2nd and then took a flight to Antwerpen and joined the squad that was ready for the tour.
‘’I was in great condition…’’ he remembered, ‘’…and honestly, I was ready to work for Loudon. But after the first two stages I felt a bit stronger than him and during stage 3, I saw the opportunity and attacked,’’ he confessed. Then what happened we all know it, and after several seasons it has been object of discussion and debates, why Fialho attacked? But we all ignored what happened that night after the stage.
Inside the bus, Márcio was sat down with the other riders, celebrating his stage win, when manager Jempie arrived with Loudon behind him, ‘’He was serious, and breathing heavily. Lucas still had the yellow jersey on, from the podium and when he came inside the bus, he kicked the table that was in front of our couch. I asked him what was wrong with him and he just insulted me, calling me with not so kind words, at the end he yelled out of control, repeating that he was the leader, not me,’’ Fialho detailed.
After that unknown incident revealed for the first time by Márcio, the relation between them changed abruptly. They didn’t talk for the rest of the TvA and Lucas won it, with Márcio in a good 4th overall and one stage win. Fialho gave more details of that Season 39, and the second fight between him and Loudon after winning Championnat des Ardennes. The friction between the hot blooded portuguese and the british super star was in its peak, ‘’I think he was afraid of me. He felt his comfort was over with my arrival to the team, I can’t blame him; I would have been afraid if I were him,’’ Fialho joked.
However, after a rough relation and many wins (but also defeats and wasted chances due to his rivalry with Loudon), the tension diminished. But Fialho avoided any contact with his co-captain and focused on his objectives, ‘’I did a great job, I don’t regret any of what happened between us. I’m just a bit frustrated with my manager because he never gave me a real chance to compete for a TvA. I never race with top form, so it was hard to give that extra to win, losing against Fausto Ledesma several times wasn’t a good thing,’’ he admitted. However, in his last years, after Lucas Loudon’s retire; he could race alone and in top form, until the team could find a new captain. Eventually Vidar Kleven, a norwegian cobbler beast, joined team Comfius and had the incredible support and experience of Fialho.
‘’I didn’t have any problems with Vidar. He is a nice guy, and doesn’t talk a lot, like most of Nordic men,’’ Fialho said. Márcio called it a day at Season 51, with 36 years old, 70 results and 28 wins is the total of his personal results.
‘’Are we done? I need to watch Netflix,’’ Fialho said. The journalist nodded and Márcio showed him the door.
Portugal