So I’m moving to Lisboa, Portugal in a few months, and I’m wondering if anybody knows what the tri and cycling scenes are like there. Good races in the area? Clubs & teams? Shops?
Also, I’m wondering what the riding is like. I have the opportunity to live anywhere between Lisboa and Cascais (I’ll be working in Oeiras) - what areas are best for riding? Where’s to be avoided?
Thanks much.
You are kidding me. Check with Sedi, Helder, Sergio and all those guys. That area rocks.
Here is a link from our recent visit:
http://spitzbube.blogspot.com/2008/07/lisbon-or-lisboa.html
H
Great pics, looks like a seriously fun trip.
I’m mostly concerned about where to ride - Lisboa proper seems seriously biker-unfriendly, and the Estrada Marginal, well, I saw some very creative interpretations of traffic laws while I was on it.
I’ve been in the area (Sintra-Cascais) and we are freakin’ spoiled. It was in the 60s and sunny this weekend. Awesome riding… road & mtb, plenty of places to swim, run etc… Lisbon International is a great early race (April) and last year there were tons of “smaller” events (ie. Euro Championships). Shoot me a PM and I’ll hook you up with some decent beta.
Thanks, Herbert, for the other names. If I want to get my a$$ kicked, I know where to go looking 
hey,
there are severall athletes training in the area including silver medalists 
yes Marginal road can be dangerous, and people arent very bike friendly. Sintra and going north into the coast are the best places to ride and roads are generally good but without shoulders. There are several places where you can run, along the shore (hard surface) or estadio nacional where again all athletes run. there are a lot of swimming pools around but again the estadio nacional 50m pool is the best in the area.
Now for riding, the best location would be cascais since you get to guincho road fast and traffic is a lot better from there. but you would have traffic in lisbon direction to get to oeiras by car and the oposite going back home. I live in queijas, just next to Estadio Nacional area. Anything around estadio nacional would be perfect for me so, Linda-a-velha, carnaxide, queijas, cruz quebrada and caxias would good. of course you can have diferent goals for a place to live.
you wont have problems with shops, races, people to ride and clubs, thats the easy part
ok going to try sleep again
In fact, Oeiras and Cascais are the best places to find other triathletes in Portugal. Most long distance boys and olympian hopefuls live and train around here and we do have a few “weekly” gatherings to bike, run and even sometimes swim on open water. There are a few nice and very scenic roads to ride and lots of trails to explore on a run. The traffic is a problem but it’s fairly easy to find company and when you go out in a group is relatively safe to ride.
As for swimming pools, you have a 50-meter indoor pool in Linda-a-Velha (5km from Oeiras) that it’s where most guys go and you will easily bump into portuguese legends as Sergio Marques, Bruno Pais and Vanessa Fernandes. It also has lanes for general public all day long. Just have to sign in and get yourself a free transit card. You have other options but I’m sure you want to go where triathlon is on the air.
Races… well, we do have a poor calendar. We have two main competitions in the area: Oeiras’ Sprint Triathlon in June and then the National Olympic distance Championship in Estoril in October. There’s also the Lisboa International Triathlon (half-ironman) which is a private organization and it has been the biggest long distance event in Portugal for years now.
But hey… nothing like coming and seeing it all by yourself.
I seriously need a return trip there.
clm
You can also look for races in Spain as it has plenty of Half Iron distance ones.
Great info all, thank you much. What about somebody living there without a car? Is it realistic to take a bike on the train, or would it be best to try and find a place near or adjacent to good riding?
I hadn’t heard of Estadio Nacional, I’ll have to check that out. Looking better & better!