Eduardo Lopes

Eduardo Lopes
Personal information
Full name	Eduardo Lopes (POR)
Born	December 22, 1917; Lisbon, Portugal
Died	August 22, 1997; Amadora, Portugal
Team information
Discipline	Road and Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	Classics specialist
Major wins
	Circuit of Boca do Inferno (1937); Circuit of Preparation (1938); Circuit of Bairrada (1942); Round to Lisbon (1942); Porto-Lisboa (1942); Circuit of Torres Vedras (1944); Circuit of Mealhada (1945); Circuit of Malveira (1945); Circuit of Torres Vedras (1947)

Eduardo Lopes (1917-1997) was a Portuguese professional road and track cyclist.

Short biography

Lopes was born on December 22, 1917, in the civil parish of Socorro (Lisbon).

In 1937 he began his career as a rider for the CUF team, as an amateur.

In 1939 be became a professional. From 1937 to 1947, he had 15 wins on famous circuits at that time, including Bairrada, Mealhada, Torres Vedras, 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. 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 Championship 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 Tour of Portugal, riding in the team of Sport Lisboa e Benfica. In Spain, he was second in the Tour of Mallorca in 1942 and third in the 3rd stage of the Tour of Spain at Badajoz in 1945. In 1947, he concluded his career at the Sporting Clube de Portugal, winning the Circuit of Torres Vedras and taking first place in the Prologue Stage 1 of the Tour of Portugal, on the runway of Jose Alvalade Stadium.

He died on August 22, 1997, at the age of 79 of a cerebral vascular accident.

Oporto-Lisbon Classic Race

Although Eduardo Lopes has won several races and circuits, 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 Portugal together with the Tour of Portugal.
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" more 6 editions of the race and was only beaten in 1956 (14 years later) and for a few seconds.

Sport carreer (Ratings)

1937 - 1st at the Circuit of Boca do Inferno (POR)
1938 - 1st at the 1st Preparation Circuit, Lisbon (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)
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)
1942 - 1st at the Bairrada Circuit (POR)
1942 - 1st at the Tour of Lisbon (POR)
1942 - 2nd at the Vuelta a Mallorca (ESP)
1942 - 1st at Porto-Lisboa, 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 Circuit of Mealhada (POR)
1945 - 1st at the Circuit of Malveira (POR)
1945 - 3rd at the third stage of the Vuelta a España, Badajoz (ESP)
1946 - 1st at the third stage of the Tour of Portugal, Faro (POR)
1947 - 1st at the Circuit of Torres Vedras (POR)
1947 - 1st in the Prologue of the first stage of the Tour of Portugal, Lisbon (Alvalade Track) (POR)

Titles

Year	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	Total
Victories	1	1	0	2	2	3	0	1	2	1	2	15

References

Links