Lisboa DownTown 2012

The bad weather almost compromised the race, but the determination of the best athletes from downhill mountain biking on the planet turned out to be stronger. The slippery pavements raised the bar even further at the Nissan Downtown Lisbon, allowing plenty of surprises. The biggest was undoubtedly the victory of Paul Domingues “Amarelo”, the first Portuguese to win the competition.

With bad weather plaguing the entire region of Lisbon, came to fear the worst. The rain came further increase the difficulty of the route of the Nissan Lisboa Downtown at breakneck descent between Castle Hill and Largo Terreiro do Trigo. Still, with only some changes in the program, the party was made once again in Alfama – in what was the first wet edition of this classic sport in the capital.

While the spotlight falls naturally on the top ranked athletes, especially the Briton Steve Peat – the Downhill World Champion who has won eight times the Nissan Lisboa Downtown – the lowest adherence found in the streets, stairs and jumps eventually create room for many surprises. With a few drops more or less ostentatious to the mix, emotions shot descent after descent.

No doubt the big man of the day, Paulo Domingues – 30 years – turned out to be faster – thus bending the sacred international “monsters” from mountain biking, a fact unprecedented; “I still can not believe that I beat the best athletes of the World, I’m still incredulous! I actually came here to fight for the title of the best Portuguese rider and leave the place by the big door, it seems like a dream. I feel so happy, because I am an amateur and they are professional”. Amarelo (Team Biciplus Sportcity/CM Sesimbra), as is known in the middle of mountain biking, completed the thousand meters of the track in 1:46.122 minutes. The podium was completed, respectively, with the Slovak Filip Polka (MS Evil Racing) and South African Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate).

Fernando Figueiredo, the organizer of the Nissan Lisboa Downtown (Extreme Conteúdos) takes stock of this 11th edition; “The bad weather complicates everything and we had to change the program, but most important is that we went ahead, despite the falls did no record of serious injury among athletes. Furthermore, I highlight the significant presence of the public – that even with an umbrella in hand did not move. “