Eduardo Lopes (1917−1997) was a

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professional

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and

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cyclist.

Short biography

Lopes was born on 22 December 1917 in the civil parish of Socorro (

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

). In 1937 he began his career as a rider for the CUF team, as an amateur. In 1939 he became a professional. From 1937 to 1947, he had 45 wins on famous circuits at that time, including

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Mealhada Mealhada () is a city and a municipality located in Aveiro District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 20,428, in an area of 110.66 km2. It had 17,043 eligible voters (2006). The city of Mealhada itself has a population of 4,522.

Torres Vedras Torres Vedras () is a municipality in the Portuguese district of Lisbon, approximately north of the capital Lisbon in the Oeste region, in the Centro of Portugal. The population was 83,075, in an area of . History In 1148, Afonso I took th ...

, Malveira, and Round to Lisbon, with the highlight being his victory in 1942 in the classic Porto-Lisboa, performed in a single step, with an approximate duration of 10 hours, over a distance of about 330 km. This was the second longest world cycling route, after the Bordeaux-Paris (560 km) and therefore very prestigious both inside and outside Portugal. In 1939 he took 9th place in the Final General Classification of the

Tour of Portugal The Volta a Portugal ( en, Tour of Portugal), also known as Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta ( en, Tour of Portugal on Bicycle), is an annual multi-stage road bicycle racing competition held in Portugal. The competition takes place during a two-week ...

. It was not his specialty or his favorite race. A distance runner and an endurance rider, as evidenced by his victory in Porto-Lisboa, he was mainly a sprinter, winning the District and National Championships of Speed in 1941 and ranking in 2nd place in the National Championships of Speed in 1944, riding for the Iluminante team, which was the primary team he rode for during his career. In 1941, he won the first two stages of the

, riding in the team of

Sport Lisboa e Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Ben ...

. In Spain, he was second in the Tour of Mallorca in 1942 and third in the 3rd stage of the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the r ...

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in 1945. In 1947, he concluded his career at the

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, winning the 166 km Classics, the Circuit of Torres Vedras, being again District Speed Champion and taking first place in the Prologue Stage 1 of the

, on the runway of Jose Alvalade Stadium. Was together with João Lourenço, the greatest Portuguese "pistard" of the years 40/50, according to UVP-FPC. He died on 22 August 1997 at the age of 79, of a

cerebral vascular accident Stroke (also known as a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or brain attack) is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to ...

Porto-Lisbon Classic race

Although Eduardo Lopes has won several races and circuits (45 victories officially registered on UCI), his most important victory was the famous Portuguese classic race called Porto-Lisboa, in 1942. The Oporto-Lisbon was the most important and popular race in

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together with the

.
The classic Porto-Lisboa with about 330 km of distance, whose first edition was held in 1911, was the world longest race in one single stage, since the end of Bordeaux-Paris (560 km), in 1988.
Eduardo Lopes got the time of 10 hours, 25 minutes and 12 seconds, less than about 3 hours the time of the 1941's edition winner. His time "withstood" six more editions of the race and was only beaten in 1956 (14 years later) and for a few seconds.

Sport career (ratings)

*1937 - 1st at the Circuit of Povoa (POR) *1937 - 1st at the Circuit of Cadaval (POR) *1937 - 1st at the Circuit of Boca do Inferno (POR) *1937 - 1st at the Grand Prix of Autumn (POR) *1937 - 1st at the National Road Championship, Amateurs (POR) *1938 - 1st at the 1st Preparation Circuit, Lisbon (POR) *1938 - 1st at the District Speed Championship, Lisbon (POR) *1939 - 1st in 166 km Classics, Lisbon (POR) *1939 - 1st at the Circuit of General Carmona, Cascais (POR) *1939 - 9th at the Final General Classification of the Tour of Portugal (POR) *1939 - 2nd at the third stage of Madrid - Lisboa, Mérida (POR) *1939 - 1st in American 2 Hours, Lumiar Stadium (POR) *1939 - 1st at the District Speed Championship, Lisbon (POR) *1940 - 1st at the Lisboa-Santarem-Lisboa (POR) *1940 - 1st at the sixth stage of the Tour of Portugal, Evora (POR) *1940 - 1st at the eighth stage of the Tour of Portugal, Castelo Branco (POR) *1941 - 1st at the first stage of the Tour of Portugal, Espinho (POR) *1941 - 1st at the second stage of the Tour of Portugal, Espinho (POR) *1941 - 1st at the District Speed Championship, Lisbon (POR) *1941 - 1st at the National Speed Championship, Lisbon (POR) *1942 - 1st at the Bairrada Circuit (POR) *1942 - 1st at the Tour of Lisbon (POR) *1942 - 1st at Porto-Lisboa, Lisbon (POR) *1942 - 1st at the second stage of Tour of Mallorca, Felanitx (ESP) *1942 - 1st at Team Pursuit in Great International Gala, Barcelona (ESP) *1942 - 1st at Madison in Great International Gala, Barcelona (ESP) *1942 - 2nd at the Vuelta a Mallorca (ESP) *1943 - 1st at 50 km Classics (POR) *1943 - 1st at the Circuit of Estoril (POR) *1943 - 1st at Madison, Lumiar Stadium, Lisbon (POR) *1943 - 1st at Sprint, Barcelona (ESP) *1944 - 1st at the Lisbon-Santarem-Lisbon (POR) *1944 - 1st at the Circuit of Lisbon (POR) *1944 - 1st at the Circuit of Torres Vedras (POR) *1944 - 2nd at District Speed Championship (POR) *1944 - 2nd in the National Speed Championship (POR) *1945 - 1st at the 166 km Classics (POR) *1945 - 1st at the 176 km Classics (POR) *1945 - 1st in Stage 1 part A of Bairrada Circuit (POR) *1945 - 1st at American, Independents, Lumiar Stadium (POR) *1945 - 1st at the Circuit of Mealhada (POR) *1945 - 1st at the Circuit of Malveira (POR) *1945 - 1st at the Circuit of Livramento (POR) *1945 - 1st at the Madison, Lumiar Stadium, Lisbon (POR) *1945 - 3rd at the third stage of the Vuelta a España, Badajoz (ESP) *1946 - 1st at the 166 km Classics (POR) *1946 - 1st at the 176 km Classics (POR) *1946 - 1st at the third stage of the Tour of Portugal, Faro (POR) *1946 - 2nd at the National Championship Road (POR) *1947 - 1st at the 166 km Classics (POR) *1947 - 1st at the Lisboa-Santarem-Lisboa (POR) *1947 - 1st at the Circuit of Torres Vedras (POR) *1947 - 1st at the District Speed Championship, Lisbon (POR) *1947 - 1st in the Prologue of the first stage of the Tour of Portugal, Lisbon (Alvalade Track) (POR)

Titles

References

Sitio de Ciclismo

Benfica History

Bibliography

*"Em Memória de Eduardo Lopes - Glória e Drama de um Campeão de Ciclismo" ''by Eduardo Cunha Lopes''. Bubok Edition (2014). 373 p. Illustrated (b&w). *"Copa España" ''by Eduardo Cunha Lopes''. Bubok Edition (2016). 113 p. Illustrated (b&w) *"As XXIV Horas do Metropolitano" ''by Eduardo Cunha Lopes''. Bubok Edition (2017). 91 p. Illustrated (b&w) *"Ciclismo e Ciclistas (Memórias de um Veterano)" ''by Amândio Nunes Monteiro''. Author's Edition (2011). 254 p. Illustrated (b&w) * "UVP-FPC: 100 Anos de Ciclismo". Edition of Portuguese Cycling Federation (1999). 159 p. Illustrated (b&w) * "História da Volta" ''by Guita Júnior''. Talento Edition (2006). 212 p. Illustrated.

External links

*
Official weblog

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopes, Eduardo 1917 births 1997 deaths Portuguese male cyclists Sportspeople from Lisbon