Rosabicyclette
Ciclista em Antiguo Caminho de Carreiros 1897
This Street is the current Av. Brasil and Av. Montevidéu in Porto. It was the host of the first cycle races in 1880. It lays on by the sea, connecting Matosinhos to the mouth of the river, it has been used for more than 100 years for sporting and recreational events .
Hipódromo de Belém
In the decade of the 1980s there were already several modes of cycling in Portugal, such that on May 17, 1885, one of the first bicycle was organised at the Hipódromo de Belém in Lisbon, in the context of a gymnastics competition.
Les lieux de sport en Portugal
Velódromo D. Amália
In 1893, the Real Velo-Clube do Porto was founded, with headquarters in the old Crystal Palace and soon after the plan for the construction of a velodrome - hence its name –near the Palace of Carrancas, currently occupied by the National Museum of Soares dos Reis. The Club had as honorary president king D. Carlos and the velodrome was given the name of "Maria Amélia", in honor of the queen of Portugal. The Maria Amélia Velodrome was the stage of dozens of races until the end of the first decade of the twentieth century. The Maria Amélia Velodrome still exists, with a small part of the track partially occupied by a recent building which supports the museum.
No Velódromo, em 1900. Foto de Humberto Fonseca.
Illustration from 1876.
The growing popularity of cycling and the emergence of new tracks such as Alpiarça, Loulé and Sangalhos marked years of prosperity for cycling clubs. The itineraries contain circuit stages made around villages that end at track festivals. From the 1960's, the Volta included places for practice as well as places for sanctuary or festivals that finance the races, many of which lay at mountain tops in order to ensure media interest. Between 1966 and 1973, the Volta leaves the reference for the design of diagonals that pass through the interior of the country, maintaining cities like Lisbon and Porto in its routes.
Nossa Senhora da Graça, etapa mítica da Volta a Portugal
In 1880, in Porto, a second race, also organized by the Clube Velocipedista Portuense, took place at the Rotunda da Boavista. The event repeated in the following years under the improvised conditions.
Rotundas da Boavista, 1880
