According to an interview with Cycling News, Oleg Tinkov has decided to leave cycling at the end of next year.
He says it’s for both personal and professional reasons. After five years in the sport, he’s achieved his goals for marketing. But he’s angry and frustrated with the sport. His attempts to change the business model and reduce the dependency on sponsorship has not been welcomed.
Majka and Sagan have contracts through 2017 but the rest of the team are only through 2016.
“There are two main reasons for my decision and I hope people will understand them and then reflect on why professional cycling has lost a guy who has spent over €60 million and who loves the sport.
“First of all, Tinkoff Bank has sponsored the team for five years and from a marketing point of view that’s enough. We’re not a global bank, the economical situation in Russia is not great and my marketing people tell me that we’ve reached all the investors we can via cycling and sports sponsorship. We’ve decided we have to switch our advertising budget to direct TV advertising in 2017.
“That’s the logical, business side of my decision. The other half is more complex and a lot more personal and is why I refuse to use any of my personal wealth going forward.”
“I’ve decided to sell the team and quit the sport because I’ve realised nobody wants to work with me to help change the business model of the sport. In the last two or three years I’ve tried to fight with ASO and the UCI, I’ve tried to find new revenue streams via TV rights, merchandise sales and tickets sales but nobody really supported me and wanted to take a strong stand with me.
“During 2015, I started to feel like Don Quixote de la Mancha. It’s perhaps a philosophical feeling because Don Quixote tilts at windmills but that’s how I feel. I’d tried to save the managers, riders and staff from themselves by trying to get everyone together, to change the revenue sources and improve things for everyone. It would make the sport more sustainable.
“When I read interviews with the big riders they never say they back my ideas, even my own riders, so maybe they don’t even care. Dave Brailsford is the only one who tried to support me. I met Jonathan Vaughters a couple of times; he’s a good talker when he’s at the restaurant but he never really supported me. But everyone should understand that nobody can fight ASO or push for changes on their own. We should back each other and then ASO wouldn’t dare kick out one team because we would all boycott the Tour de France.
“But if nobody else cares about the future of the sport, then why should I care? F*ck all of them! That’s my personal reason why I want to leave professional cycling. From January 2017, I’m gone. I’m out of cycling. I’ll jump on my jet, fly home and focus on my business interests and enjoying my life. Everyone who is left in cycling will be the ones who will be in the shit. They will have to try to survive year by year, trying to convince sponsors to back a sport that isn’t sustainable.”
He is also frustrated with the UCI. As quoted from CN:
“The UCI are stupid guys,” he said dismissively.
“It’s pretty simple to solve cycling’s problems. Teams need to have equity so they can survive and develop. We need licences for at least five years, not just three years. We need a transfer market like in football, so that I could perhaps now sell Peter Sagan and make money. Sadly nobody has a strategic view or a real business plan for professional cycling. Everyone follows a 12-month view. But I’m a businessman and work with a 60-month view or even 90 month-view. Nobody can plan, and work with just a 12-month strategy. You won’t achieve anything.”
Even though he bought out the team from Bjarne Riis in 2014, Riis would love to return to the sport, and Tinkov is interested in selling the team back to him. He could also possibly sell to a Polish sponsor or anyone else.
In spite of all this, he’s looking forward to the 2016 season.
“It was difficult to tell the riders about my decision but they understand it and understand that I tried to change professional cycling,” Tinkov said. “I wanted to tell everyone, to get it out there. Now every knows its my last season, I want to enjoy it. I think I’ve been fair with everyone in the team because apart from Peter, Majka nobody has a contract beyond 2016. I told them all now, I didn’t wait until August or the end of the season. I told them 13 months before their contracts expire.
“I’m sure 2016 is going to be our best season. Now the guys have to deliver. Not because of Oleg, their families or the team, but because they’re riding for their futures. I’m sure we’re going to rock, that we’re going to f*ck everybody.
“I’m proud of my time in professional cycling. We’ve won the world title, Classics, the Giro and we’ve still got 2016 to come. I call on the team to be the best in the sport in 2016, to win the Tour de France, so we go out on a high. I’m convinced that Alberto Contador can win the Tour de France. I think he’s the rider who can beat Chris Froome at the Tour.
“I’ve no regrets about quitting after 2016. I love cycling, it’s my favorite sport. I’ll continue to follow it as a fan but I’ve decided I can’t be part of it unless it changes.”
