The night before Eros Poli took victory atop Mont Ventoux he couldn’t sleep. It was not like he was dreaming of victory or even had the slightest idea the next day's stage would change his life forever. It was just that it was hot. Unbearably, unsleepably hot in his less-than stellar French hotel. His roommate had taken his mattress off the bed and was sleeping on the small balcony outside their room. And the man who would shortly become known as Monsieur Ventoux was watching football, Italy vs. Brazil in the World Cup final, to be exact. Italy lost. The following morning as Eros dragged his weary, tired legs out of bed and down the stairs, as there was no lift, James Brown came into his head. “I feel good, I knew that I would now,” started to repeat over and over in his head. As it would the rest of the day. He felt good and the rest, as they say, is history.

After an impressive pro career that started back in 2003, Sérgio Paulinho joined the inGamba team at the start of 2022 after his retirement. But we've known him for a long time, as not only did he race against our founder João Correia, but he was also a teammate of our star guide Manuel Cardoso back in the day. A two-time national champion in Portugal, Sérgio has also won stages at the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, and in 2004, he won a silver medal in the road race at the Athens Olympics. So it's fair to say the man has pedigree! It isn't the racing victories that impress us most about Sérgio though, it's his personality, his friendly nature on and off the bike, and the fact that he's always ready with a smile. That said, if you find yourself running out of gas on a big climb, it certainly helps to have someone like him beside you!