During Giro d’Italia, Oleg Tinkov, Team Owner of Tinkoff-Saxo, did 2002 kilometers on his bike – enough to go from the final destination of the Giro, Trieste, to Russia. In fact, he was only 400 kilometers short of his residence in Moscow. But Oleg didn’t ride east – he followed the parcours of the Giro and did it stage by stage just like the riders. For Oleg it was about staying in shape between long workdays but just as much about getting a first hand experience of what the riders go through on a daily basis during a Grand Tour.
Oleg Tinkov
“First of all, cycling is one of my big passions, so I did it because I really enjoy going on my bike. But I also wanted to put myself in a situation, where I could experience the suffering and the pain that the riders experience when the race gets really tough. As a team owner, it gives me the opportunity to connect with the riders on another level”, explains Oleg Tinkov after returning home from the Giro.
Just in front of the race
The team owner has since the fourth stage to Bari been on his bike every day also joining the team on rest-day training rides. But naturally, he couldn’t follow the pros during the stages so he found another way to get the full experience.
“I rode in front of the race followed by my own team car with gear to survive the different weather conditions such as the hail storm on one of the stages. Some people actually thought that I was a solo breakaway rider and cheered me on towards the final kilometers. That was fun. But I do it to promote cycling and show that we all have the opportunity to be a part of cycling”, says Oleg Tinkov, who also tells that he might need to go down a couple of weight classes in order to feel at home on the steepest climbs.
This years Giro was again affected by harsh weather conditions from strong crosswinds in the southern part of Italy to low temperatures with snow during the stages in the Alps. Oleg tells, that he was dedicated to continue even though the weather took its toll on him.
“I remember the fifth stage in Puglia, where we started in Taranto down south. We had strong crosswinds throughout that stage combined with rain. That was one of those days, where you realize just why the peloton splits into pieces like that. I also did stage 16 over Gavia and Stelvio with snow and temperatures at 0,5 degrees – that was my coldest bike ride ever”, says the Russian banker turned rider with a big smile.
Coldest bike ride ever
Cycling is, luckily, not done at maximum effort all the time. So during Oleg’s rides, he also took the opportunity to spend time with Tinkoff-Saxo’s CEO Stefano Feltrin on many of the stages as well as Team Manager Bjarne Riis on the second rest day.
“We had the possibility to take 4-5 hours out of our, otherwise, hectic days to discuss a lot about the team and how we can improve even more, how we can develop better nutrition programs, better recovery programs and so on, concludes Oleg Tinkov.
