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Team Sky is unbeatable and Contador is past his best – Oleg TinkovOLeg Tinkov (source Tinkoff Saxo on Facebook)

Team Sky is unbeatable and Contador is past his best – Oleg Tinkov

“It’ll soon be time to put out the candle on the Tinkoff team”
by Alex Bowden
Wed, Jul 27, 2016 16:51
13

Alberto Contador was the only rider who could have beaten Chris Froome, but 2016 was his final chance to win the Tour de France – that is the view of Oleg Tinkov, the owner of the Spaniard’s Tinkoff team.

Oleg says a lot of things, of course, but his views on the financial clout of Team Sky echo those of many other people.

Tinkov will leave cycling at the end of the season and writing in a blog on Cycling News, he explained there was “nothing much anyone can do to beat [Froome] and Team Sky,” and said this was why he was taking “a couple of years out from the sport.”

“To understand why Team Sky is currently unbeatable, just look at the money they have and how they use it wisely. They have an investment of around €10 million riding alongside Froome and helping him win the Tour de France. I have about €2 million to do the same role for Alberto. That’s a huge difference when it comes to building a team. Dave Brailsford can afford to buy anyone to make Team Sky stronger, and so make his rivals weaker.”

Speaking about Contador taking on Froome, Tinkov said he hoped the two would go head-to-head at the Vuelta, but said he felt as far as the Tour was concerned, the Spaniard had now missed his chance.

“I really admire Alberto but in my humble opinion he should stop his career this year because he’s at the top now and can’t get any better. I believe carrying on his career with Trek-Segafredo for another two years is a mistake. He can still win the Vuelta but I doubt he will ever win the Tour again. This year was his last chance.

“He’s obsessed about winning the Tour, so am I, but I’m able to judge things rationally and I know it’s the right time to stop. I believe it’s the Froome era now and for the next two or three years, and so there’s nothing much anyone can do to beat him and Team Sky. That’s why I’m taking a couple of years out of the sport.”

About returning to cycling, he said he said there was no point doing so until Froome was a little older and “some new guys come along” to challenge him.

“Time heals wounds and I’m sure I’ll come back to the sport sooner rather than later. Give me a couple of years. I’m really tired and need a break from it all. I want my July back, too. I haven’t had a July for the last four years. My dream is to go to Norway to see the Fjords; it’s something I’ve never done.”

Team Tinkoff
Oleg Tinkov
Alberto Contador
Chris Froome
Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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13 comments

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Smoggysteve | 6 years ago
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Pro cycling and the way it works is very similar to US sports ie NFL, NHL etc. There is no promotion to worry about for the teams, so why not introduce a draft system for teams in the close season so 1 team cannot cherry pick all the talent. It would benefit the sport more if lower ranked or financially inferior teams got a pick of the riders before Sky can just hoover up the rest.

Its not a prefect system and would need a lot working on to iron out problems but its got to be better than the current system on money ruling everything.

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theloststarfighter | 8 years ago
1 like

So Sky have got their shit together in terms of training regime and team dynamics but it's wrong to say they have any event sewn up.  Anyone in the team getting sick, injured or just putting too much effort into one stage so they can't deliver on the next all open up opportunities to the other teams. Lets face it those other teams need to want to attack and win, not just individually, as a whole team for the GC.

Oleg's a laugh and I think he'll miss the attention.  Perhaps he'll be back.  Contador might win the tour next year or perhaps Quintana will, perhaps Porte, maybe a Yates...lets hope it'll be a scrap until the last mountain.

Avatar
gbzpto | 8 years ago
1 like

Leicester City football club?

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davel replied to gbzpto | 8 years ago
0 likes
gbzpto wrote:

Leicester City football club?

Oops - no, I meant the 'noisy neighbours', Man City, not Leicester.

Analogy probably works with any 2 of Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea...

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davel | 8 years ago
1 like

Yeah as another team's DS (can't remember which one) said, you still have to manage expensive cyclists and get them performing for a GC leader as a team, which takes more than hard cash.

Just Tinkov's original point smacked of the Glazers pulling out of football 'because City are buying the league'. Behave, Oleg.

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davel | 8 years ago
2 likes

€2m? Half of Peter Sagan. Remind me which team he's on again, Oleg?

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midschool replied to davel | 8 years ago
2 likes

davel wrote:

€2m? Half of Peter Sagan. Remind me which team he's on again, Oleg?

He is referring to the budget used to support their GC contendor. Sagan is not there to support anyones GC campaign, he is there with his own objectives (and is clearly delivering on them as well). I would agree with the broad statement that it is largely impossible to compete against sky's budget and the resources that come with it.

 

Avatar
davel replied to midschool | 8 years ago
2 likes
midschool wrote:

davel wrote:

€2m? Half of Peter Sagan. Remind me which team he's on again, Oleg?

He is referring to the budget used to support their GC contendor. Sagan is not there to support anyones GC campaign, he is there with his own objectives (and is clearly delivering on them as well). I would agree with the broad statement that it is largely impossible to compete against sky's budget and the resources that come with it.

 

Yep: disingenuous, though, no? His main GC rider bounced out and he still had one of, if not the, highest-paid rider in the race, someone who was capable of, and happy to, play a supporting role when his team-mates occasionally needed it.

He'll've been lumping Sky riders who also win things, but wouldn't compete for the GC, in the Sky support sum.

The point he's trying to disguise is that Sky bought the TdF. OK, but Oleg had a good go too.

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notfastenough replied to davel | 8 years ago
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davel wrote:
midschool wrote:

davel wrote:

€2m? Half of Peter Sagan. Remind me which team he's on again, Oleg?

He is referring to the budget used to support their GC contendor. Sagan is not there to support anyones GC campaign, he is there with his own objectives (and is clearly delivering on them as well). I would agree with the broad statement that it is largely impossible to compete against sky's budget and the resources that come with it.

 

Yep: disingenuous, though, no? His main GC rider bounced out and he still had one of, if not the, highest-paid rider in the race, someone who was capable of, and happy to, play a supporting role when his team-mates occasionally needed it. He'll've been lumping Sky riders who also win things, but wouldn't compete for the GC, in the Sky support sum. The point he's trying to disguise is that Sky bought the TdF. OK, but Oleg had a good go too.

 

i don't think you can buy the victory, as such.  Sure, the budget makes a big difference, but if you could simply buy the win then marginal gains wouldn't matter, and the podium would be reliably populated in order of team resources. In truth, they do and it isn't. 

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srchar replied to midschool | 8 years ago
2 likes

midschool wrote:

I would agree with the broad statement that it is largely impossible to compete against sky's budget and the resources that come with it.

Katusha has pretty much the same budget as Team Sky.   BMC aren't all that far behind.

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robthehungrymonkey replied to srchar | 8 years ago
2 likes

srchar wrote:

midschool wrote:

I would agree with the broad statement that it is largely impossible to compete against sky's budget and the resources that come with it.

Katusha has pretty much the same budget as Team Sky.   BMC aren't all that far behind.

 

Agreed. I bet Tinkoff's overall spend on the tour team was similar to Sky, Sagan and Contador I think I read are on more than Froome. Majka etc probably aren't cheap either. 
Sky dedicated their team budget to GC, Tinkoff spent a BIG chunk on the green jersey. No right or wrong, but you spend your money, make your choices etc etc

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kitkat replied to srchar | 8 years ago
1 like

srchar wrote:

midschool wrote:

I would agree with the broad statement that it is largely impossible to compete against sky's budget and the resources that come with it.

Katusha has pretty much the same budget as Team Sky.   BMC aren't all that far behind.

Yes, these links would seem to bear that out for 2016, Sky (35m), Katusha (32m), BMC (28m),  Tinkoff (25m): http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-team-largest-budget-262275

and in 2015 Tinkov (22.8m) & Sky (29.1m) seemed closer together: http://inrng.com/2016/07/the-finances-of-team-sky-2015/

All prices in euros

Avatar
handlebarcam | 8 years ago
2 likes

Oleg Tinkov: The respectable face of Russian sport.

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