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

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.