Professional Amateur

Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil — September 28, 2025

I started cycling more often in 2012. I rode to friends’ houses, to school, then to prep school, to college, to my internship. I got everywhere on it. After a badass guy pulled me into my first 30 km ride, I picked up the habit of Sunday rides. I took plenty of risks on the city streets, had a few falls, but I also developed a taste for testing my limits and for the feeling of autonomy.

The bicycle is an invention like no other. Driven by human propulsion, using willpower as fuel, it amplifies the human body’s already remarkable capacity to generate energy. I guarantee that, when you want to test your limits, you will be surprised by how far your body can carry you on a bicycle.

I keep surprising myself, more and more since I started taking it more seriously last year. I signed up for this Sunday’s race with the simple goal of completing the 107 km. I had prepared to minimize my suffering as much as possible, with training, better habits, sleep, nutrition, and proper hydration. It still hurt a lot. But every second invested in the climbs came back worth 100 times more on the descents.

I consider myself a professional amateur. I have no ambition of reaching the podium, nor do I intend to compete with any opponent other than myself. I want to live unique experiences like this race, keep paying attention to the maintenance of my body so that it lasts as long as possible, share these routes with those I want close, and, who knows, inspire those who come next.