Oleg Tinkoff Team Katusha has Russian rider Vladimir Karpets and 15 million budget to win
Started in late 2008 by Russian entrepreneur and bank manager Oleg Tinkoff, Team Katusha is set to become a force to be reckoned with in international cycling. Announcing an annual budget of 15 million on the launch of his new project, Tinkoff has the financial means to create a successful team.
After a promising 2007 season that included 7 stage wins, Tinkoff’s previous Team Tinkoff Credit Systems was taken over by the Russian Global Cycling Project Foundation, an initiative to promote cycling from the youth-levels and up in Russia. The project is generously funded by influential Russian companies such as Gazprom and Itera.
Tinkoff himself, a devoted rider since starting Team Tinkoff Credit Systems in 2007, spent his 2009 budget recruiting several cyclists from across the international stage. Australian rider Robbie McEwen, Italian Filippo Pozzato and Belgium’s Gert Steegmans, among others, joined Team Katusha for the 2009 season.
While there is no doubt that Team Katusha's strong finances have attracted many of its cyclists, the team also had a surprisingly strong run in their first season, collecting 23 stage wins in 2009.
Team Katusha was divided by an anti-doping clause that its riders were requested to sign in the summer of 2009. The clause stated that riders found guilty of doping would have to pay a fine of five times their annual earnings, something Steegmans was not willing to do.
Steegmans, who won stages in the Tour in 2007 and 2008, ended up terminating his contract with Team Katusha on August 5th. Belgian racer Kenny de Haes also left Team Katusha as a result of his refusal to sign the clause, joining Belgian Team Omega-Pharma Lotto instead.
Team Katusha have their hopes set high for the 2010 season. Kim Kirchen, who joined the team in June, will be unable to participate due a heart attack that he experienced during the recent Tour de Suisse. Kirchen, who won last year’s Stage 15 of the Tour, is likely to prove a key signing for Team Katusha, despite his current absence.
This may mean that Katusha’s best bet in the Tour will be Russian rider Vladimir Karpets, who has been with the team since 2009. Karpets won the Tour’s white jersey, awarded to the best young rider, in 2004, and finished 14th overall in this year’s Giro d’Italia. Karpets also won the Tour de Suisse and Volta a Catalunya in 2007.
Explosive sprinter McEwen, forced to pull out of last year's Tour with a leg injury, will be another contender from Team Katusha to watch. Spectators will hope for thrilling sprinting duels to take place between him and British sprinter Mark Cavendish, and the green jersey will be up for grabs.
Team Katusha’s seasonal performances are likely to keep improving. Joaquím Rodríguez, winner of this year’s Volta a Catalunya, began racing with the team this year. Known widely as a diverse cyclist, the Spaniard hopes that his first major wins will be under the Team Katusha banner.
Looking for a move that would ensure his participation in the Tour, Rodríguez found Tinkoff’s prestigious team a perfect match.
“I have been assured of my presence in the Tour,” he said to Cyclingnews. “My previous teams have never felt the need take me [to the Tour] - I'm very excited because I'm already 30 and this is the only major 'fault' of my career.”
With plenty of financial leeway and an ever-ambitious Tinkoff pulling the strings, Team Katusha is likely to continue to attract top international cyclists and to build on its already impressive achievements.
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