Gonçalo Bandeira lands a 2nd place in Round 4 of the iXS European DHI Cup

Gonçalo Bandeira claimed another podium finish at iXS European DH Cup, Round 4

CZECH REPUBLIC (July 22, 2018) - Miranda Factory Team rider, Gonçalo Bandeira, took home another podium finish, this time second place, in the Under 17 category in Round 4 of the # 4 iXS European Downhill (DHI) Cup, which took place last weekend in the Czech Republic. The international event also marked the return of Vasco Bica to competition. Fans will recall that Bica was forced to withdraw from competing on account of injury, but now he’s back on pace, having finished 28th in the Elite category.

Bandeira, who recently defended the title of Portuguese National Downhill Champion in the Cadet category, took the podium’s second spot in the iXS European DHI Cup on Sunday. As a reminder, Bandeira won the previous round, which took place earlier this month in Abetone, Italy.

"Another iXS — this time in the Czech Republic on a very hard course, but I still enjoyed it immensely and had fun on the bike," said Bandeira. "There was rain on Sunday that made the racecourse muddy, which I liked. I was having a good final run until unfortunately, two falls kept me from the victory and I earned second instead. Still a podium is a reason to smile.”

Bandeira finished just one second behind the winner.

Bandeira also expressed happiness about his teammate, Vasco Bica’s, return to racing. Bica, recently recovered from a wrist injury that forced him to stop racing. The competition in the Czech Republic marked the return of the elite racer to Miranda & Irmãos official downhill team.

"It was a difficult race for my return to competition,” Bica remarked. “It was very technical and, due to the weather conditions, the racecourse became very slippery,"

He added that it was still "great to be able to compete again and do what I love."

Happy to be back competing and still working on his return to race pace, Bica finished 28th in the elite category, which wasn’t quite enough to qualify for the final. A fall also didn’t help, because he lost some places, which he was unable to get back. Despite not yet back to 100%, the rider is feeling strong enough to campaign for victories.