The beginning of his career
Avancini was born in Brazil and immediately discovered cycling thanks to his father's workshop, a reference point for the local cycling community. This allowed the young Henrique to discover the world of cycling and what lies behind it right from the start.
The passion gradually grew and so cycling from a game became first a dream, then a goal and finally a job. Thanks to the excellent results he had in the local championships, Henrique decided to go racing in Europe to show himself to the major teams and thus try to close a professional contract.
The problem, however, was the money to travel to Europe and have the equipment at the level of the pros. Despite all the obstacles in front of him he still decided to go and put his heart and passion where his wallet could not reach.
His first night in Europe was at the airport in Cyprus, where he slept to avoid paying for accommodation as soon as he landed the day after his first race. Very often he would also acquire components and other parts by taking scraps from professional teams, but which were still good and usable for him
Thanks to this drive and passion, the talent scouts quickly took notice of the young Henrique, and he was able to sign his first pro contracts and develop his early career, eventually landing at Cannondale Factory Racing.
Cannondale Factory Racing
Cannondale Factory Racing was Avancini's home for many years, sharing the XC tracks with Marotte, Marco Fontana, Alan Haterly, Simon Andreassen, but above all Manuel Fiumic, now team manager at CFR, who shared many adventures with him.
Manuel, who bid farewell to his career last year, participated for many editions together with Avancini in the Cape Epic, becoming the most iconic duo in this stage race in South Africa. Together they have achieved many goals and created performances and emotions that have kept us glued to our television sets.
Despite all the difficulties of being Brazilian and the distance to Europe, the nerve centre of top-level mountain-biking, Henrique never gave up and his grit and passion inspired many Brazilians and many riders around the world to follow in his footsteps or in general to never give up on their dreams.
We all remember the crowd that greeted its home champion in a very warm embrace on the first stage of the 2022 World Championships in Petropolis
Henrique has always conveyed values of concreteness, passion, commitment and perseverance, making him a true champion on and off the track.
He has always been very active in charity and has always wanted to give back to his community what he has been tenacious enough to earn.
For example, during the Petropolis stage he and the entire Cannondale Factory Racing team wore Rossi Prologo gloves in support of the Pump for Peace project - a team whose aim is to race athletes from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, thus giving them an economic opportunity they would otherwise never have been able to achieve.
The bike
The bike used by Enrique has always been his faithful Cannondale Scalpel Left, recognised and famous throughout the world for the one-piece fork that has always accompanied him over the years despite its evolution.
The saddle was the Scratch X8, a long and narrow model, about 134 mm by 270 in length that accompanied Henrique for many years.
Lately, however, the more observant will have noticed a new model on his bike. Indeed, in the final part of his career, Avancini developed a new product, the Scratch NDR, which we will see on the market in 2023. A perfect mix of a long and a short saddle, designed exclusively for cross country. The grips, on the other hand, are the ultra-light Prologo Feather.
Avancini has certainly written an important page in the history of MTB and sport in general, leaving a mark behind him made of passion, tenacity and fairness. He has inspired us both personally and professionally, and for this we can do nothing but thank him, wishing him the best of luck in his next chapter.
