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news
OLeg Tinkov (source Tinkoff Saxo on Facebook)"F*ck all of them!" Oleg Tinkov to walk away from cycling at end of 2016
Oleg Tinkov will sever his ties with cycling at the end of the season, with the Russian admitting defeat in his attempts to reform the sport – and has warned that teams and sponsors will be left “in the shit” unless it changes.
Earlier this year, the Russian entrepreneur outlined how he believed cycling needed to change if the sport, and those operating within it, were to have a sustainable future.
> Tinkov unveils his vision for cycling
But he says his call to action fell on deaf ears, leading him to decide to walk away from the sport with a parting shot of, “F*ck all of them.”
Speaking to Stephen Farrand of Cycling News, he said: “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,” he went on.
“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.”
Likening himself to Don Quixote tilting at windmills, Tinkov lamented the lack of support for his ideas, saying [Team Sky Principal] Dave Brailsford is the only one who tried to support me.”
He went on: “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.”
Tinkoff also said that reforms proposed by the UCI were not sweeping enough – he wants five-year, not three year licences, and a transfer system similar to football, “so that I could perhaps now sell Peter Sagan and make money.”
He added: “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.”
Tinkov’s departure could herald the return of Bjarne Riis, who sold it to the Russian in 2014 but is known to be eager to return to the sport.
Meanwhile, the team’s management are seeking new sponsorship for the 2017 season and beyond.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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18 comments
Is it possible he's been disdained by fellow team owners not for his resemblance to Donald Trump but because they fear he's the fullsized version of Bernie Ecclestone, the pint sized megalomaniac who used to make the same points as a team owner in Formula One until he ended up owning the business?
Seriously, if you scroll back to the bad old days of FOCA versus the FIA in F1, Tinkoff would fit right in there, nad would probably, liek Bernie, have ended up owning the whole show before selling it to the highest bidder.
He clearly rubs a lot of people up the wrong way but he does touch upon some valid points. Of course, you cannot charge people to stand on a public road and watch a bike race go past but his other points regarding TV rights & merchandie rights could bear fruit for teams if they went ahead.
Cycling adminitrasion is horribly out of date and it's quite wrong for a porfessional cyclist to live their life on an uncertain hand to mouth basis where only the top riders get huge salaries. it's just a shame that nobody would back him to see these changes take place.
Ironically though, by withdrawing his sponsership, he's simply creating the same situation he's trying to resolve!
He does sound bitter, but... I am sure it has nothing to do with diminishing profits due to western sanctions, very low oil prices and general feeling that shit has hit the fan in his home country.
I wonder if Contador may announce that maybe he might not retire this year after all...
Team owners and sponsers come an go, it's the nature of cycle racing. Happy trails to you Oleg, we won't miss you.
Perhaps he has a point?
Perhaps he has a point?
I didn't say that twice, honestly!
Go on then, fuck off and take your wig with you!!
Wafty blonde hair. Huge ego, billionaire, dabbling in politics. Ever wondered why you've never seen Tinkoff and Trump in the same room?
Mega rich bloke, rattle, pram. Just saying.
Why wait, Oleg? You could f*ck off now and do everyone a favour.
Why wait, Oleg? You could f*ck off now and do everyone a favour.
I would say this was a flounce.
Thing's haven't been done my way on my timescale so i'm off as i don't like it.
ok Mr Tinkov
In the main, I think Oleg is a dude and the sport will be a little bit duller without him.
Agree reform should happen, teams should have shares in TV rights and more oppertunity to cover their costs without relying on short term sponsorship contracts.
To an extent, I can see his point. Cycling is not like any other sport - the teams do not have a guaranteed income stream. They have to rely upon sponsorship which is at best a short term relationship with a finite end date. One of the reasons Sky have been successful is that they have a longer-than-most relationship with Murdoch et al and have had the budget and the time to invest in all those marginal gains.
ASO is the organisation that makes the most money out of cycling, but is very reluctant to share that with the teams. If you look at the amount of money that teams get through winnings from the world's biggest sporting event, it's derisory, but the media exposure and revenues enjoyed by ASO are pretty huge.
What Tinkov was trying to do was enable teams to secure a permanent revenue stream - and that could only be a positive for the sport. It means that teams can afford to develop young riders, be innovative and also not be tempted to persuade riders to dope so that they get some short term results when looking for a new sponsor (although, before I get trolled, I do appreciate that this won't eliminate doping at all).
ASO weren't interested because they're greedy and short termist - and they don't really care if teams have to disappear at the end of a season. I know there's an argument that says "well, it's worked so far" but I'd argue it's not worked as well as it could for the benefit of the sport as a whole.
I'm sure he is a good character but his ideas sound carp. Merchandise, tickets and rider transfers, why make cycling like the farcical sport of football?