João Correia (cyclist)

João Correia

Personal information
Full name	João Miguel Da Silva Correia
Born	(1975-02-10) February 10, 1975 Portugal
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Professional teams
2008-2009	Bissell
2010	Cervélo TestTeam

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

Early life

Correia was born in Cernache do Bonjardim, a former civil parish in the municipality of Sertã, central Portugal. Upon emigrating to the USA with his family, he raced competitively until the age of 21, including three appearances at the UCI Juniors World Championships. 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 before becoming associate publisher of Bicycling magazine.

Return to racing

Following a conversation with Fausto Pinarello, 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, where he rode alongside high-profile stars like 2010 world champion Thor Hushovd and the 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre.

Post-racing career

Upon the closure of the Cervélo team, João went back to the business world, working for LinkedIn 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 the likes of Michael Valgren, winner of the 2018 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Amstel Gold Race, Team Sky rider Tao Geoghegan Hart, and Dutch veteran Laurens ten Dam.

Aside from his business interests, Correia is also a supporter of World Bicycle Relief, an international non-profit organization based in Chicago that specializes in large-scale, comprehensive bicycle distribution programs to aid poverty relief in developing countries around the world. Their programs focus primarily on education, economic development, and health care. To date, his company inGamba Tours has raised more than $1 million for the WBR cause.