Big changes for Sergio Marques
It has been almost 8 years since I last interviewed Sergio Marques and much has changed for this Portuguese pro since then. He recently finished 2nd at Israman Triathlon, is wiser, older, a bit more mature and to some degree ready to settle down, but he is certainly not done with racing and training.
Slowtwitch: It is good to chat with you.
Sergio Marques: My pleasure my old friend.
ST: I know you recently raced the Israman Triathlon but it has been very quiet around you. Have you been hiding?
Sergio: Not at all, I’ve been doing my best to start another round of races, but by doing so I have very little time left. I used to blog a lot but there is so much going on right now that I can’t write about nothing that can be useful.
ST: How about you tell us what you have been up to in the last year or so.
Sergio: Well, the usual, working and training. Triathlon related I had a year filled with big setbacks, 2 flats in Lanzarote and then an accident just before the big months of racing. Got myself well again to finish 2nd in Challenge Vitoria still with leftovers from the accident and then was 4th in Challenge Almere, then I got injured just before Ironman Barcelona so I decided to end the season, somewhere between seasons I got the national championship in Azores to make me happy. Could be better for sure but its something that is part of the sport I guess.
ST: What accident did you have before the season?
Sergio: It was after Lanzarote and before Ironman Nice, on the 4th of June to be precise. I was riding back home after my after work ride, and a lady came through a stop sign just in front of me, and I had no chance to even try to brake. It was a nasty crash that broke my hand, and since I wanted to have a full recovery without any regrets when I got older, I took a lot of time to heal it and it was good after that.
ST: How did you decide on Israman?
Sergio: It was a race that I had been following every year. The folks at Club226 talked to me to come and race and I couldn’t say no. It was definitely a tourism/racing trip and I was amazed and happy to do that and would not hesitate doing it again.
ST: Going into the race, what was your goal?
Sergio: Well I knew I wasn’t in the best form but was keen to do my best, and didn’t have any particular goal other than that. It’s a very early race and by far the earliest I ever raced a triathlon in any distance yet alone an Ironman distance triathlon. To make it even worse the course is absolutely brutal.
ST: Fitness wise where were you compared to where you should be able to be?
Sergio: I don’t think I was in top shape of course, I was concerned with the injury recovery and one month before the race I got another crash involving me and a car, yes, another one, although this time I didn’t have much physical problems other than the normal healing period, running was what I discarded a bit over the rest before this race. I would say I was ok fitness wise but not super.
ST: Talk about the race.
Sergio: Tough! A brutal course but it’s very well organized. I was actually surprised with how well organized it was and having done quite a few races all over the world so I’m comfortable to say this without any problems. Racing wise it was good while it lasted! I had a decent swim and got to the lead early and stayed there until almost the end of the ride when Bart passed me. The bike course is indeed very hard, just when you are trying to catch up to your normal breathing you hit a 15km climb that gets stepper at the end. It is not hard to get to the top at 20km with more than 1hour of riding, but after that you have very steep short climbs all the way [to the finish] with a flattish part somewhere between 130 and 150km. Wind is a big factor too and actually in some parts is a bit dangerous. It is an explosive mix especially because you end the ride at the top of the mountain, contributing even more for a long time in the saddle. I finished the bike with the legs burning and totally ready to send the bike to trash and not ride during a month. I was still confident that I could pull it of with a normal run and after 2 min deficit in T2 I got close to 30-40s from Bart. Now the first 10km of the run are down hill, running downhill with stiff legs after 180km of super tough ride was something I never tried. Probably the closest I have experienced before was running out my home after a ride and that only 500m. It is hard on your body, and at 15km I was the closest to Bart, but then I absolutely blew up. I knew beforehand that I wasn’t in the best running form but I would have thought that I could run well until 30-35km, but that just didn’t happen. I was happy that the course melted everyone behind me as well. With the finishing relieve I felt very happy with my travel to Israel and truly recommend it to anyone who is considering this race.
ST: Was this the first time you have been to Israel?
Sergio: Absolutely, and that’s where the tourism part joined the racing part, I had some guided tours from Adi, Gabi and Doron from club226 in Israel and they were absolutely top. Truly a wonderful country with immense history behind it, and there are still some spots I would like to visit.
ST: Do you know the Dutch guy who won the long course event?
Sergio: Yes, I raced Bart a couple times including Almere last year, and he is young and improving for sure. Seems to have a nice and fun Dutch athletes group around him as I had a beer with them all day after the race!!
ST: You raced on an older repainted QR in Israel, but it seems that you have been changing bikes as some folks change TV stations. I think you have a Hotta and a Lotus among others.
Sergio: Yes, well actually I sold that frame, it was a frame that I raced in the Team Timex days, a QR Caliente with a really wild hand paint. I believe that frame is in New York built as a fixie now, yes really. But yes, I have plenty to choose from, I love bikes especially TT/triathlon bikes. I have a built Lotus ready to go but I am trying to save it to something very special. The Hotta is being ridden by Vanessa but I raced it in Ironman Zurich in 2011. I’m currently riding a P4 that I recently bough from a fellow Slowtwitcher and will ride it at least until Lanzarote, and I have the a beam frame that I also raced in 2010 and its being repainted to have it built too. I wanted to race with it in Roth.
ST: Do you enjoy the freedom of not having a bike sponsor and thus being able to ride whatever suits the course or your personal happiness?
Sergio: I have been lucky to have bike sponsors to support me for most of my racing years but as a bike “aficionado” I love to change here and there to the best I can. During the years I made my small museum with XYZ frames and a double diamond one. Hotta is the X, cycpro is the Y and Lotus is the Z, currently the P4 is the DD. I will certainly not race Lanzarote with a Lotus and built the P4 to have the best light and aero combo I can get with what I have. So yes, I enjoy playing around with bikes for my personal happiness and actually do bike reviews for the Portuguese cycling mag.
ST: What about the new generations of XYZ frames. Which one of those is the most exciting to you and why?
Sergio: I think Y and now Z are doing fine, I don’t remember many X frames other than the chetaah that I absolutely love. I hope more and more manufacturers can bring back the old superbikes back. For now I like to follow what is going on with the Y frames and their development, Dimond and Falco are going the right way and the cycpro is on hibernation, that was/is a great frame and like any beam bike, super comfortable. The Z frames are now coming back with the Ventum and I know that there is one being developed 15km from my door although with very limited resources and slowly. Since I am a huge fan of the Lotus, anything that looks like one gets my respect and joy. One of the exciting bikes I have been following is the Rafael Monoblade frame, although this might not be mass production stuff. Looks like we are getting back do the 90’s in this regard… innovation and thinking outside the double diamond bikes
ST: I don’t know if you can or want to talk about it but what was the most cash you got from a bike sponsor in any season so far?
Sergio: I sure can, it was roughly €10,000 quite a few year ago, it wasn’t just for bike sponsor more like a team but based on a bike brand. Other than that I had a few travel money and performance bonuses.
ST: Do you still run that Lusobike Bicicletas shop in Lisbon?
Sergio: No, I stepped out a few years ago to embrace something related to my education. I’m a civil engineer now, doing gas station maintenance in half of the Portuguese territory, that means that some days I’m at the office for a full day and others I’m out driving around and standing up all day. I’m yet to find what is worse on the body, I’m starting to believe that I can get better workouts after a full day moving around than being seated all day.
ST: Does the shop still exist?
Sergio: It moved 200km north so it is not in Lisbon anymore
ST: How about that Green Pepper restaurant?
Sergio: Yes and still a good spot for triathletes and still in the same place
ST: What is on tap for this summer for you?
Sergio: I have been happy to race a lot every year, I make fun of it by saying that I spend my vacation days racing here and there. Eventually I will have to start racing a bit less. Having said that I will race Lanzarote, Challenge Norway, Challenge Roth, Challenge Almere or UK, Ironman Barcelona and maybe, maybe Ironman Arizona although that’s still a bit out of the sight, I wanted to go back to the States this year to race again and why not, see some friends.
ST: What about marriage and a baby Sergio? Can we expect one of those or both some time soon? And you can tell me to shut up if you don’t want to answer this.
Sergio: Yes to both, I even want to contribute to a younger Portuguese population percentage to have a better retirement plan. All kidding aside, it is a big problem at the moment as the population in Europe and in particular Portugal is getting too old.
ST: I think you will need to recruit some others to tackle that situation.
Sergio: I will have “Go for it, make babies” on my racing suit.
ST: Is there a wedding date already planned?
Sergio: No, not yet it’s true that I’m getting older everyday but no date yet. You will be invited don’t worry!!
ST: Anything else we should know?
Sergio: I wanted to say I miss Paulo Sousa and to let him know that he is still the best coach in the world but 2nd best in Portugal! And of course take the opportunity to thank my current sponsors: Zoot, Mavic, Fizik, Zipvit, Massbody, Avizaqua
The website for Sergio Marques can be found here.
