The talented Brazilian will join our feeder squad for the 2025 season.
Henrique Bravo has agreed on a deal that will see him ride for one of the best U23 teams in the world, Soudal Quick-Step Devo. The 18-year-old has impressed in both road and mountain bike races in 2024, his standout result of last season coming on Spanish soil at the Vuelta Ribera del Duero – where he won the GC after an impressive stage victory on the steep gradients of Laguna Negra, which only underlined his potential as a climber.
“I'm really happy! To enter in this team was a dream of mine since the start I started riding, and then to be with these athletes and people, is really nice. I think it will be a really nice experience and a really nice opportunity”, said Henrique, who won six mountain bike races on home turf this year before producing a solid ride at the Juniors World Mountain Bike Championships held in Andorra.
He continued: “Here in South America, we have a good cycling culture but more on the mountain bike and not a lot on the road. To be able to go to a team in Europe is difficult for people from Brazil and they almost don’t believe it is possible. Now I hope that I can prove that it’s possible and to open more doors to the athletes here in Brazil and South America. It’s a unique feeling and I hope to learn and enjoy this opportunity.
I have always watched cycling: road cycling, mountain bikes, cyclo-cross. I watch all the races, and I was fascinated with all the athletes, and even watched videos on YouTube. This kept me dreaming and then I started to work for it. Since 2018 I started riding in more competitions, and now I’m more focused on the road.
I think more a climber for the long climbs, but let’s see. Where I live, I have some good climbs, steep and 20 minutes long. But there are also a lot of a lot of cars, and when I went to Europe it was like the paradise, because I could find a lot of roads without cars and climbs – it’s really nice. Coming to Europe will be a great learning tool. I will need to adapt a little bit to the routine in Europe, but I think it will be good and then I will try to get more experience in the winter. I will have to get used to the cold too but I think will be nice!”
