When MotoGP star Miguel Oliveira created history last month by becoming the first Portuguese rider to win in the elite division of the sport there was one person singling him out for special praise.
"I'm so proud my love," Andreia Pimenta wrote on Instagram. "This is just the start. I'malways with you."
Pimenta is Oliveira's stepsister - and also his fiancee.
They met in their early teens after his father married her mother. A relationship blossomed and after keeping it secret for a long time they went public a few years ago.
"Before love there was a great friendship. We grew up together," Oliveira told Portuguese TV recently.
"At some point we realised that it was more than a friendship, it is a very strong love."
Oliveira, 25, was ecstatic after recording his first MotoGP win, which left him "screaming" in "pure joy to have done it finally".
"I saw this coming already quite a few races ago," he said. "I felt we had the potential to do it, so finally to be able to do it is a huge boost to be able to continue like this."
And the celebrations will continue on a personal front in the not-too-distant future when he and Andreia tie the knot.
On the day they became engaged. Photo / Instagram
"We were going to get married this year, but that weekend I had a race and we had to postpone it to next year," he said.
They have the blessing of Miguel's father too. "I'm happy that my son is getting married to the woman of his life," Paulo Oliveira told Marca.
Andreia, 24, often posts about her love for Miguel on social media, celebrating his birthday earlier this year with the message: "My love today is your day. There is not a day that my love for you does not grow even more."
When he proposed in mid-2019 she wrote: "Today was marked forever in my life. The answer was YES."
Miguel Oliveira celebrates after winning the MotoGP race at the Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Photo / AP
Miguel also honoured Andreia on her most recent birthday, posting: "Congratulations love. Another year side-by-side with the one I love the most, it remains so special."
On their engagement he added: "Hello friends, I want to share with you that today I knelt on an important curve in my life and without a scraper! She said YES."
