Nicolas Portal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Nicolas Portal

Portal at the 2011 Giro d'Italia
Personal information
Full name	Nicolas Portal
Born	(1979-04-23)23 April 1979 Auch, France
Died	3 March 2020(2020-03-03) (aged 40) Andorra la Vella, Andorra
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb)
Team information
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Major wins
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, 1 stage (2004)

Nicolas Portal (born April 23, 1979 – died March 3, 2020) was a French professional cyclist. He later became a very successful team manager, known as a directeur sportif. He was born in Auch, France.

In 2009, he had to miss much of the cycling season. This was due to a heart problem called cardiac arrhythmia. After the 2010 season, he stopped racing as a professional cyclist. However, he stayed with his last team, Team Sky, and became a manager in 2011. In 2013, Nicolas Portal became the main directeur sportif for Team Sky.

He passed away on March 3, 2020, at the age of 40. He died from a heart attack.

Nicolas Portal's Cycling Career

Portal at the 2007 Tour de France

Nicolas Portal was born on April 23, 1979, in Auch, France. His father managed a quarry, and his mother was a medical secretary. He started cycling by riding mountain bikes. He was very good at it when he was young and in his early twenties. Later, he switched to road cycling.

At the end of 2001, he joined the AG2R Prévoyance team as a stagiaire. This is like an intern for a cycling team. He became a professional cyclist with the team in 2002. That same year, he rode his first big race, the Grand Tour, at the Vuelta a España. In 2003, he rode in the Tour de France for the first time. He would ride the Tour de France five more times, always finishing the race in Paris.

His only professional win was in 2004 at the 2004 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. He won stage 3 by making a quick attack on the last hill. Even though he didn't win many races himself, he was known as one of the most dependable domestiques. A domestique is a teammate who helps the team leader win.

In 2006, he moved to the Caisse d'Epargne–Illes Balears team. Nicolas Portal was part of the team when Óscar Pereiro won the 2006 Tour de France. Portal finished that race even after a bad crash on stage 15. The next year, his brother Sébastien, who was also a cyclist, joined him at the team. Nicolas missed all of the 2009 season because of a heart problem. However, he rode his last full season with Team Sky in 2010.

Leading as a Sports Director

After he stopped racing, Dave Brailsford hired Nicolas Portal to be a directeur sportif for Team Sky. A directeur sportif is like a coach and manager for a cycling team. Even though Portal couldn't speak English well at first, Brailsford saw his great "human qualities."

In 2013, Nicolas Portal was promoted to be the main sports director for Team Sky. Under his leadership, Team Sky riders won six of the next seven Tour de France races. They also won one Vuelta a España and one Giro d'Italia. These wins made Portal one of the most successful sports directors in cycling history.

In 2019, he led Egan Bernal to victory in the Tour de France. This made Portal the first sports director since 1983 to win the Tour with three different riders. He had previously won it four times with Chris Froome and once with Geraint Thomas.

Nicolas Portal's Passing

Nicolas Portal died suddenly from a heart attack at his home in Andorra on March 3, 2020. He was 40 years old. After his death, his team, Ineos Grenadiers, decided not to race until March 28. They said this was because of the "unique set of circumstances" of Portal's death and the coronavirus pandemic.

Major Achievements

Grand Tour Race Results

This table shows Nicolas Portal's results in the biggest cycling races, called Grand Tours.

Grand Tour	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Giro d'Italia	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Tour de France	—	82	72	88	100	57	65
Vuelta a España	84	—	—	—	—	—	—

Source: ProCyclingStats

See also

In Spanish: Nicolas Portal para niños