João Miguel Da Silva Correia (born 10 February 1975) is a Portuguese former cyclist who last rode for .

Early life

Correia was born in

Cernache do Bonjardim Cernache do Bonjardim is a former Freguesia (Portugal), civil parish in the municipality of Sertã Municipality, Sertã, central Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Cernache do Bonjardim, Nesperal e Palhais. The population in 20 ...

, a former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the municipality of Sertã, central

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Upon emigrating to the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

with his family, he raced competitively until the age of 21, including three appearances at the

UCI Juniors World Championships The UCI Juniors World Championships were a set of UCI World Championships events for junior bicycle cyclists in 2005 to 2009. In 2010 it was divided into: *The Junior men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships *The UCI Juniors Track World ...

. Correia raced for Portuguese Continental team Troiamariscos in 1995, after which he turned down the possibility of a professional cycling career in favour of attending Fordham University in New York. After graduating, a career in publishing brought him around the world, working for titles such as

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

before becoming associate publisher of

Bicycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, Physical exercise, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bike ...

magazine.

Return to racing

Following a conversation with Fausto

Pinarello Cicli Pinarello S.p.A. is an Italian bicycle manufacturer based in Treviso, Italy. Founded in 1953, it supplies mostly handmade bicycles for the road, track, E-bikes(NYTRO), mountain bikes and cyclo-cross. The company also produces bicycles u ...

, the owner of the renowned bike brand set up by his father, João decided to return to racing aged 32, losing more than 60 pounds in the process. His unique story and his performances with US Continental Bissell Pro Cycling Team led to much media interest and an eventual contract with

Cervélo TestTeam Cervélo TestTeam () is a former professional cycling team, whose license was held in Switzerland by the cycling management company Cycling United Racing. The team's title sponsor was Cervélo, a Canadian manufacturer of bicycle frames that prev ...

, where he rode alongside high-profile stars like 2010 world champion Thor Hushovd and the

2008 Tour de France The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regu ...

winner Carlos Sastre.

Post-racing career

Upon the closure of the

Cervélo Cervélo Cycles is a Canadian manufacturer of racing and track bicycles. Cervélo uses CAD, computational fluid dynamics, and wind tunnel testing at a variety of facilities including the San Diego Air and Space Technology Center, in California, ...

team, João went back to the business world, working for

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...

before returning again to cycling, combining his passion for the sport with his business skills to set up two successful companies: inGamba Tours, a travel company specialising in cycling, and Corso Sports Marketing, in partnership with his friend and business partner Ken Sommer. Their agency represents some of the most exciting talent in professional cycling, including

Coryn Rivera Coryn Labecki ( née Rivera; born August 26, 1992) is an American racing cyclist of Filipino descent, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . As of June 2018 Labecki has won 72 national titles, taking her first elite level national cha ...

( Tour of Flanders winner 2017),

Mads Pedersen (cyclist) Mads Pedersen (born 18 December 1995) is a Danish professional racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . In September 2019, he won the men's road race at the 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire, England, and became the first Danis ...

, winner of the 2019 Road World Championships, Ineos Grenadiers rider

Tao Geoghegan Hart Tao Geoghegan Hart ( ; born 30 March 1995) is a British cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He rode for as a stagiaire in late 2015, and joined the team permanently for the 2017 season. He won the 2020 Giro d'Italia, taking the j ...

(Winner of the

2020 Giro d'Italia The 2020 Giro d'Italia was a road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race that took place between 3 and 25 October, after initially being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was originally to have taken place from 9 to 31 May 2020, as the ...

), and Dutch veteran

Laurens ten Dam Laurens ten Dam (born 13 November 1980) is a Dutch former road racing cyclist and current gravel racer. He competed professionally in road cycling between 2003 and 2019 for the , , , , and squads. Career A native of the village of Zuidwold ...

. Aside from his business interests, Correia is also a supporter of World Bicycle Relief, an international non-profit organization based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

that specializes in large-scale, comprehensive

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

distribution programs to aid poverty relief in developing countries around the world. Their programs focus primarily on

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

, and

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

. To date, his company inGamba Tours has raised more than $1 million for the WBR cause.

References

1975 births Living people Portuguese male cyclists {{Portugal-cycling-bio-stub