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Video: Brazilian cyclist drafts lorry... at 124 kilometres an hour

Evandro Portela attaches Go Pro to back of truck to record his ride - and retrieves it after hitting top speed

Remember the video we posted last week of a cyclist in Manchester tailgaiting a truck? Well, he’s got nothing on this rider from Brazil who last month clocked up an astonishing 124 kilometres an hour while drafting a lorry – and all filmed on a Go Pro camera that he attached to the back of the truck and retrieved after hitting that top speed.

To begin with, it’s just a couple of guys riding behind a truck as they pick up speed, but things get interesting at around about the halfway point when the road heads downhill, including some bunny hops at more than 100kph - and they're having an awful lot of fun, too.

The video’s description on YouTube doesn’t give too much away, but it does pin the language down to Portuguese.

The sponsor of one of the rider’s kits, ATP Gráfica Editora, is a graphic design business in the city of Curitiba, in southern Brazil, and a little bit of detective work led us to the Facebook page of the cyclist who took the video, Evandro Portela.

In response to comments about his apparent lack of regard for his own safety, one of his friends says: “It's not for everyone ... I’ve known Evandro Portela for a long time and I've never seen anyone ride a bike like this guy.

“As they say in all the extreme sports TV shows, "Don’t try this at home” … So if you’re risk conscious and value your safety, leave it to those who developed the technique. He knows the risks he’s taking.

“Enjoy the video and put the criticism to one side because each of them knows what he’s doing.”

At 77 miles an hour, the speed Portela set is some way short of the 112mph that Guy Martin achieved last year in a programme for Channel 4.

Unlike Portela, who was riding a Wilier road bike, Martin set his speed on a bike built for the purpose, the lorry had a massive fairing attached to the rear of the cab, and the Isle of Man TT star was wearing motorcycle leathers, not Lycra.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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41 comments

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rascal6000 | 9 years ago
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What a strange little man

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brucedinsmore23... | 9 years ago
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Not that fast: most pro riders travel at those speeds without a massive truck windbreak in front of them. Even I've clocked 100kph on descent smooth down hill Tarmac.

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rgriffith7 | 7 years ago
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I doubt they could pedal this fast and stay in control. So I think most of the vid is under 80KPH. Only on that downhill would they be able to do the 124KPH.

How fast will I be going at 90-210 rpm in these gears?

 Cadence Gear  90       100      110     120     130    140     150     160     170     180     190      200      210
53x11                     33.94 37.71 41.48 45.25 49.03 52.80 56.57 60.34 64.11 67.88 71.65 75.42 79.19 53x11

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chickeee | 7 years ago
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and the bus has # 124 ... but it's real, and Evandro Portela has his eye on the World Record too

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Mungecrundle | 7 years ago
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Impressive, but I'm pretty sure I have been drafted by cars much closer than that.

(Though maybe not at 80mph)

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ChairRDRF | 9 years ago
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A bit more information here:

"Evandro Luiz PORTELA tested positive for the use of Phentermine and Stanozolol in the Volta do Estado de São Paulo, in March 2006. Because this was his second doping rules violation, after a positive test for Anabolica in 2002, he was suspended for life by the UCI in July 2006. "

He has used substances with a tendency to increase aggression. And he has been banned from racing. So maybe he wants to ride a bike and get some kicks...

Also see Metallica free version of this video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtPCs4G7-7c

and a couple of other videos of him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkMwQZLn1sA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCXe9svyO0c (with camera on lorry)

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ChairRDRF | 9 years ago
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Ok, it is Evandro Portela.

BTW, 124 kph is likely for the few moments when he is really twiddling it.

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ChairRDRF | 9 years ago
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Ok, it is Evandro Portela.

BTW, 124 kph is likely for the few moments when he is really twiddling it.

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Skylark | 9 years ago
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They aren't doing 124 kph.

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Colin Peyresourde | 9 years ago
1 like

I hope they wear a base layer in case they fall!  3

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giff77 | 9 years ago
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There's several uploads of this guy on You Tube. One of them has a gang hammering down the hard shoulder as he passes them. Totally unreal.

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ChairRDRF | 9 years ago
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Now, if anybody with Portuguese can provide a translation, that would be very nice...Also the names of the guys.

I would have thought 175 cracks a bit too long for his super fast twiddling at the max speed - looked like he was at about 130 rpm.

In my foolish youth a trio of us would very occasionally draft lorries going up the Hendon Way. We knew the road, did it for no more than a few hundred metres, and never went above 30 - 40 mph.

There is a story that in the late 50s early 60s, during the London-Bath-London 200 mile reliability trial, which went down the A4, the fast men would draft and occasionally overtake lorries, which had a speed limit then of 40 mph. Not many cars about and the lorry drivers were (supposedly) sympathetic.

I'm also pretty sure I saw a very well known time triallist drafting a lorry on the A1(M) in the early 80s.

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rmabreu | 9 years ago
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The guy actually mentions the crankset he is using during the video - at a certain point he shouts: "55x11!!"

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parksey | 9 years ago
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Jaw-dropping stuff, not least the tekkers in bunny-hopping/one-handed/no-handed at the sort of speed. But cycling on the motorway? F**k that!

road.cc wrote:

The video’s description on YouTube doesn’t give too much away, but it does pin the language down to Portuguese.

Brazilians speaking Portuguese? Who'd have thunk it...

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chokofingrz | 9 years ago
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Well call me a big yellow chicken but I have never drafted nor would I ever draft another vehicle, and I think the people who do it are maniacs! (Just to add some balance to the road.cc comments section.)

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viveLaPants | 9 years ago
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brilliant - the driver was obviously in on it - but that takes some huge ballons  41

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mightyflav | 9 years ago
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I actually know these guys! They are a group of Elite riders who train together and are very good at this. It is not a one time fluke!

Good to know they were close to Martin`s record. If I am not mistaken they use a 175 crank with 55x11s.

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Tovarishch | 9 years ago
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They are speaking Portugese - they are bolas not cojones! Still blwdy big, though.

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Rupert | 9 years ago
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It's not so much the speed as I am sure there are many of us who have done this in the past, maybe at much faster speeds it's just we didn't have cameras to record it. It's the fact that he attaches the camera to the back of the lorry and films himself one handed? That's the dangerous bit.

This is the 2nd article I have seen on Road CC that shows riders drafting. Will we be getting a "how to draft" article soon  21 My recommendations would be the A1 near Stamford nice down hill section there to get in behind lorries, potential for drafting above 60mph or in the South West the dual carriage way near Honiton lends it self to potential drafting at around 50- 70mph.

Of course not all idea drafting roads are dual carriage ways. Shoreham to Brighton has many buses braking the speed limit and it is relatively easy to get in behind them although not recommended if you aren't responsive to sudden stops of the bus.

Or should we all be condemning this as highly irresponsible riding  17 someone is going to come a cropper soon doing this.

Plus one of the guys wasn't wearing a helmet in this video  103

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Airzound | 9 years ago
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Nutz.

A truck travelling at 124kmh!

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mikese13 | 9 years ago
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Reminds me of that scene from Breaking Away.

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nicholassmith | 9 years ago
1 like

I like that he bunny hops the white lines for safety, seriously talented.

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124g | 9 years ago
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What a pair of guys, top top riding absolutely loved it, crazy stuff but hey respect !!  41

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s_lim | 9 years ago
1 like

Can only applaud and reel my jaw back in. He must be uncomfortable sitting on his bike with his massive balls.

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SteppenHerring | 9 years ago
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Slightly sceptical about the top speed. By the Gift of Sheldon, 77mph on 53-11 on 23mm tyres is a cadence of over 200.

Mad though. Chance of being killed by a pothole or a dead badger very high.

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jamesv replied to SteppenHerring | 9 years ago
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Look at his chainrings towards the end of the video - big ring looks a mite bigger than 53t.

Illegal (probably), irresponsible, stupid, but very, very fun. I'd doff my chapeau but I've just taken it off in order to draught this bus.

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SteppenHerring replied to jamesv | 9 years ago
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jamesv wrote:

Look at his chainrings towards the end of the video - big ring looks a mite bigger than 53t.

I hadn't spotted that. Plugging Nik Bowdler's gearing in to Sheldon, I get a more manageable 150rpm.

(Nik once overtook me on a TT turning his 77-12 gear and it was like some sort of stealth craft coming past)

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Flying Heron | 9 years ago
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Brilliant!! I thought I did well once behind a manure tractor!......never again

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jmaccelari | 9 years ago
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Cajones. Big cajones...

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don simon fbpe | 9 years ago
1 like

Pah! If he was that good, he would've overtaken the truck...  16
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¡Con dos cojones!

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