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.
41 thoughts on “Video: Brazilian cyclist drafts lorry… at 124 kilometres an hour”
Sign of the cross at 50 secs
Sign of the cross at 50 secs followed by no hands. Then bunny hops. Impressive death wish stuff.
love it
especially no
love it
especially no helmet.
that will get the pro lifers , sorry pro helmet lobby in a lather
I have no issue with his
I have no issue with his drafting or the speed, its mental, but looks like fun. The part I began to think “oh sh*t” was when he was going to get the camera back, then filming with one hand, still going fast.
How long do bike tyres last
How long do bike tyres last at those speeds? Like the Veyron tires that’ll last about 10 minutes at full speed, a set 23mms must be shot after that.
Fair play to the guys!
Fair play to the guys! Cycling is too serious anyway. We need more people pushing what they can do with a bike rather than pushing strava segments for bragging rights in a office.
Shouldn’t he be wearing a
Shouldn’t he be wearing a helmet? 😉
In Brazil 2 years ago I saw a
In Brazil 2 years ago I saw a guy ride up to the top of Corcovado mountain, to the Christ, at a speed I literally could not believe. He looked like he had someone pulling him. Incredible. I reckon it must have been some local pro, but to this day I’ve seen nothing like it. This guy is something else.
Fantastic
Fantastic
Yes, of course, not wearing a
Yes, of course, not wearing a helmet is really going to make a difference if he comes off at 124 kph.
This is about the most jaw dropping cycling video I have ever seen, ranking alongside Latin American urban downhill mountain bike races and Fabian Cancellara descending in the Tour.
Ad if you don’t like the soundtrack, turn down the volume…
Most impressive thing about
Most impressive thing about that is casually mounting the camera into the truck then picking it up again afterwards. One handed at 70mph. Proper skill.
Nice work by the riders and that looks like a brilliant road.
mass grande cojones!!!
and
mass grande cojones!!!
and the control to take the camera off, and then film your bike and self whilst 5- friction- feet from a lorry at super-speed! grande cojones indeed!
Pah! If he was that good, he
Pah! If he was that good, he would’ve overtaken the truck… B-)
.
.
.
.
¡Con dos cojones!
Cajones. Big cajones…
Cajones. Big cajones…
Brilliant!! I thought I did
Brilliant!! I thought I did well once behind a manure tractor!……never again
Slightly sceptical about the
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.
Look at his chainrings
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.
jamesv wrote:Look at his
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)
Can only applaud and reel my
Can only applaud and reel my jaw back in. He must be uncomfortable sitting on his bike with his massive balls.
What a pair of guys, top top
What a pair of guys, top top riding absolutely loved it, crazy stuff but hey respect !! =D>
I like that he bunny hops the
I like that he bunny hops the white lines for safety, seriously talented.
Reminds me of that scene from
Reminds me of that scene from Breaking Away.
Nutz.
A truck travelling at
Nutz.
A truck travelling at 124kmh!
They are speaking Portugese –
They are speaking Portugese – they are bolas not cojones! Still blwdy big, though.
It’s not so much the speed as
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 :)) 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 :S someone is going to come a cropper soon doing this.
Plus one of the guys wasn’t wearing a helmet in this video :H
I actually know these guys!
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.
brilliant – the driver was
brilliant – the driver was obviously in on it – but that takes some huge ballons =D>
Well call me a big yellow
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.)
Jaw-dropping stuff, not least
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!
Brazilians speaking Portuguese? Who’d have thunk it…
The guy actually mentions the
The guy actually mentions the crankset he is using during the video – at a certain point he shouts: “55×11!!”
Now, if anybody with
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.
There’s several uploads of
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.
I hope they wear a base layer
I hope they wear a base layer in case they fall! 😉
They aren’t doing 124 kph.
They aren’t doing 124 kph.
Ok, it is Evandro Portela.
Ok, it is Evandro Portela.
BTW, 124 kph is likely for the few moments when he is really twiddling it.
Ok, it is Evandro Portela.
Ok, it is Evandro Portela.
BTW, 124 kph is likely for the few moments when he is really twiddling it.
A bit more information here:
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)
What a strange little man
What a strange little man
Not that fast: most pro
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.
I doubt they could pedal this
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
53×11 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 53×11
and the bus has # 124 … but
and the bus has # 124 … but it’s real, and Evandro Portela has his eye on the World Record too
Impressive, but I’m pretty
Impressive, but I’m pretty sure I have been drafted by cars much closer than that.
(Though maybe not at 80mph)