Joaquim Agostinho
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Joaquim Francisco Agostinho |
| Nickname | Tinho |
| Born |
7 April 1943 Portugal
|
| Died | 10 May 1984 (aged 41) |
| Team information | |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1968 | Sporting Clube de Portugal |
| 1969–1970 | Frimatic |
| 1971 | Hoover |
| 1972 | Magniflex |
| 1973 | Sporting Clube de Portugal |
| 1974 | Bic |
| 1975 | Sporting Clube de Portugal |
| 1976–1977 | Teka |
| 1978–1979 | Flandria |
| 1980 | Puch |
| 1981–1983 | Sem France Loire |
| 1984 | Sporting Clube de Portugal |
Joaquim Fernandes Agostinho, OIH (7 April 1942 – 10 May 1984) was a Portuguese professional bicycle racer. He was champion of Portugal in six successive years. He rode the Tour de France 13 times and finished all but once, winning on Alpe d'Huez in 1979, and finishing 3rd twice. He died after colliding with a dog whilst leading the Tour of the Algarve.
Agostinho was born in a small village, near Torres Vedras. He lived for several years in Casalinhos de Alfaiata. Out for a ride as a youth, he encountered Sporting Clube de Portugal's cycling team on a road near Casalinhos de Alfaiata - Torres Vedras. He began an impromptu race; the team could did not catch him, even though Agostinho was riding a standard steel bicycle.
Agostinho fought for three years with the Portuguese army in Angola and Mozambique during the Portuguese Colonial War of 1961-1974. Jean-Pierre Douçot, who became his mechanic as a professional, said:
"It was his captain during the war in Mozambique who discovered him. When he carried messages on a heavy bike, he took two hours to ride 50km when the others took five."
Joaquim Agostinho started racing as an amateur at the age of 25 years in some Portuguese races, wearing some borrowed cycling wear lent by João Roque. After winning some races, Agostinho signed a professional contract with Sporting Clube de Portugal. Then, when racing with the Sporting Clube de Portugal cycling team in São Paulo, Agostinho - a rider "of average height but with the build of a rhinoceros", according to the historian Pierre Chany - left Jean de Gribaldy in awe of him, a team manager and former cyclist. They met in Brazil in 1968, when Agostinho won the Tour de São Paulo. De Gribaldy was managing an amateur team in the race. That year Agostinho rode the world professional road championship at Imola, while still an amateur, and came 16th after initiating the move which brought victory for the Italian, Vittorio Adorni. De Gribaldy and Agostinho became lifelong friends. De Gribaldy said in 1980:
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