Dão Nelas was born as an idea in 2008 when a group of friends who normally got together to do mountain biking on Sundays and participated in some competitions.
Some elements of the initial group had already been part of other groups namely in Sport Lisboa e Nelas in a project that included the mountain biking side, in an experience that did not go well. It was with this team that I Marathon “Nelas Coração do Dão” was born in 2007.
At the end of 2008 it became clear to the group that we were going to organize a MTB event to our liking, correcting some things we didn't like about MTB events and testing some ideas we had.
It was on 02/02/2009 that the Núcleo Dão Nelas association was created, a non-profit association with the aim of organizing mountain biking and hiking activities to promote the village of Nelas and to bring together members with the same passion for the practice of this sport. .
After the creation of the Núcleo Dão Nelas with 15 founding members, the work of organization begins, looking for support and partnerships.
The main reason for creating this group was to organize MTB events in the region and we have been doing so since 2009.
2009
08/03, Preparation of the Up and Down race in Nelas organized by Inatel where the booking and support process was done by Dão Nelas BTT.
06/09, It is in this year, as part of the Dão Wine Festival, that the II Marathon “Nelas Coração do Dão” is born with the support of CM de Nelas, JF de Nelas, Huf Portuguesa, Intermarche - Nelas, Mathias Supermercados, JC Automóveis, Grafinelas, Marque TDI, OMB, Zeiss among others, who have supported the project since the beginning.
In this event we had the participation of 238 mountain bikers, 13 female from various parts of the country including British, French and Spanish.
2010
20/03, we were part of the teams for organizing and identifying the dumps in the municipalities of Nelas and Viseu in the project “Limpar Portugal” where we worked from December 2012 until “Dia L”, 20/03/2010.
05/23, Preparation of the Up and Down competition in nas organized by Inatel where the booking and support process was done by Dão Nelas.
05/09, We held the III Marathon “Nelas Coração do Dão” with the participation of 293 mountain bikers, 16 female. In this race we had the participation of several teams from the region with a majority local participation.
2011
04/09, Due to marketing reasons, the name of the event was changed, thus creating the IV Marathon BTT do Dão - Nelas, with the participation of 336 mountain bikers, 22 female from 136 different locations. Event integrated in the Up and Down Championship organized by Inatel.
2012
03/10, In order to support the Nelas BV we organized the 1st Resistance 6 Hours BTT - Nelas with the participation of 207 mountain bikers, 14 female, with the revenue collected in favor of the Nelas BV.
09/09, the V Marathon BTT do Dão - Nelas was held, with the participation of 257 MTB riders from 83 different locations, 20 of which are female. Competition again integrated into the Up and Down Championship organized by Inatel.
2013
08/09, The VI BTT Marathon of Dão - Nelas was held, with the participation of 296 MTB riders from 96 different locations with a female participation of 25 athletes. We have the presence of Tiago Ferreira, Carla Cabral, Elisabete Rouxinol, Ana Campos and Rafael Gomes among other important names of national BTT.
2014
07/09, the VII Marathon BTT do Dão - Nelas took place, where we hope to have the participation of the many regulars and some new faces. A total of 258 athletes, 23 of which were female from over 90 different locations, took advantage of our magnificent trails.
2015
06/09, the VIII BTT Marathon of Dão - Nelas, brought to Nelas 216 athletes, 14 of them female. It was the debut in competitions of the Regional XCM Cup of the newly created Regional Association of Cycling of Viseu. The race went off without a hitch on a beautiful sunny day.
2016
04/09, IX Dão MTB Marathon – Nelas.
As in 2015, the event was part of the Regional XCM Cup of AR De Ciclismo de Viseu.
2017
04/09, X Marathon BTT do Dão – Nelas.
As in 2016, the race was part of the Regional XCM Cup of AR De Ciclismo de Viseu.
2018
24/06, 2nd Resistance In them.
04/09, IX Dão MTB Marathon – Nelas.
As in 2015, the event was part of the Regional XCM Cup of AR De Ciclismo de Viseu.
23/09, 1st Route of Quintas do Dão. BTT and Hiking event with a single objective, Fun and getting to know some of the flavors of our land,
2019
06/23 3rd Resistance In them.
22/09, 2nd Route of Quintas do Dão. BTT and Hiking event that aims to present some of the region's farms,
Give Pedestrian
In 2011 we started hiking activities supporting some initiatives such as:
06/08/2011 Rediscovery of Aguieira - Aguieira
06/16/2012 Mondego Walk
10/21/2012 STAFF Walk 2012
06/01/2013 BTT and Walk along the Dão
14/04/2013 Spring Walk
17/11/2013 Caminhada Solidaria BVN to be fully reverted to the support of the BV of Nelas.
It was definitely in 2013 that we chose the name of the group and in 2014 and defined in the activity plan, organize a monthly walk in 2014 through the different locations of the municipality of Nelas. This plan has been maintained in 2015 and 2016, ensuring that all Parishes in the Municipality are visited.
We are always gathering more than 50 people on each walk. These walks are free of charge for the participant, except for some where we appealed to solidarity, collecting money for some associations in the region and the Volunteer Firefighters of Nelas and Canas de Senhorim who have always supported our activities.
In 2014, 2015. 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 we kept planning walks in the municipality and some outside. In 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic we had to cancel all events, restarting activities in the second half of 2021. In 2022 we have 10 walks planned in the county and some outside that will be available in the activity plan.
Dão Nelas BTT School
It was in January 2013 that we started the BTT Dão Nelas School project. This project was started by Lino Moreira with the support of Núcleo Dão Nelas with the main objective of training not only in the use and care to be taken on bicycles but also to teach good practices of citizenship and courtesy as well.
Our school has participated in several school meetings at regional and inter-regional level and we recently organized the Regional Meeting of MTB Schools Zona - A, where we had the participation of 51 athletes from the Benjamins, Beginners, Children and Youth levels of 6 teams. .
In 2014 we organized a Regional Meeting of Schools. This event brought together more than 50 children from Aveiro, Penacova, Águeda, Castro Daire, Santa Comba Dão and beyond.
In 2015 we joined the Associação R. de Ciclismo de Viseu and in 2016 we organized the 3rd Regional Meeting of Schools where we received more than 60 children in all levels of cycling initiation.
In 2017 and 2019 we organized another Regional Meeting of Schools in Nelas.
At the end of 2019, we started a break at Escola BTT Dão Nelas and we hope to start activities in February 2022.
Trail Running - They Give Them Runners.
In 2015, Dão Nelas started its activities in Trail Running, accepting the challenge requested by Paulo Santos and Caminhos Cruzados to organize an event in Nelas.
It was on April 25, 2015 that the Trail “Caminhos Cruzados – o Novo Dão” was held, an event held to promote the landscapes of Nelas and the Wines of the Caminhos Cruzados.
In this 1st edition it was possible to receive 50 athletes for the 35 km TL and 150 for the 16 km TC. Additionally, there was a walk in which 280 people participated.
In 2016 it was possible to complete the 2nd edition of this Trail in the past 24/04/2016, with a presence of more than 600 athletes, 49 for the Long Trail, 136 for the Short Trail and more than 400 for the walk.
The money collected from the walk was offered in equal parts to the firefighters of Nelas and Canas de Senhorim.
In 2017, 2018 and 2019 we carried out new editions of this trail.
In 2020 we had to cancel the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic and registration for the 2022 edition is now open.
road cycling
In 2015 we collaborated with Associação R. De Ciclismo de Viseu and CM De Nelas in the organization of the 1st Stage of the 1st Grand Prix of Dão, a cycling event divided into 2 stages. The first stage between Nelas and Mangualde and the second stage between Penalva do Castelo and Viseu.
8 Portuguese and 1 Spanish professional cycling teams participated in this event.
In 2016, following the example of 2015, we again coordinated part of the activities of the 2nd stage of the Grand Prix of Dão, an event that had 17 teams, including the main Portuguese teams and 4 Spanish teams.
Tennis - Dão Nelas Tennis
In 2022 we will start a new stage with the integration of Tennis activities.