Oleg Tinkov exclusive Q&A

Oleg Tinkov, the owner of Tinkoff-Saxo, agreed to an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News HQ reporter Orla Chennaoui to discuss his triple Grand Tour challenge.

The Russian has offered €1million to Alberto Contador, Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana if they ride all three Grand Tours in a single season, with the money being split between them or going entirely to the rider with the best overall result.

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Here is the full transcript of the interview…

What is your plan?

I don’t have any plans – it was just an idea. This idea was born inside of our team, Tinkoff-Saxo. Me and our general manager, Stefano Feltrin, started to think why cycling is one of the few sports where the best are not competing against each other.

Instead, they are trying to avoid each other in the main races, such as the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta – the so-called Grand Tours. We feel it's very inappropriate for such a big sport.

It's an idea - not a plan – to offer all of them, and the managers of the teams, the chance to compete all together.

Alberto Contador has already decided to do the Giro and Tour, so it seems like a good idea for everyone else to join in.

There were a lot of discussions this year about who was the strongest. Was it Nibali, who won the Tour? Was it Contador, who won the Vuelta with one leg? Was it Quintana, who won the Giro quite easily?

These discussions will always happen unless they compete face to face in the same Grand Tours. But it’s important that they compete in all the three Grand Tours because otherwise we don’t really find out who is the strongest.

Alberto is doing the Giro, but if Froome and Nibali don’t do the Giro, that means they will have an advantage over Alberto at the Tour. It’s not similar conditions or an equal situation.

Our idea is to talk to the sports directors and the riders and bring them all together at the same big races. The sport will benefit, the fans will benefit, and eventually there could be marketing and financial benefits – the sport will get more money, the teams will get more money, the race organisers will get more money. For example, Sky will pay us more money for the TV rights. That’s the idea, but it’s not a plan.

It’s not about the money or the marketing or the sponsorship – it’s for the good of the sport.

Who have you spoken to about the idea?

Honestly, I have only spoken to a few people. One was Guiseppe Martinelli, who is a manager of Astana, and it seems like he was keen because he said it was a very good idea.

I personally also talked to Mr Froome at the podium ceremony in Santiago de Compostela at the Vuelta, just one month ago, and he didn’t rule it out.

Stefano has also been talking to Alexandre Vinokourov at Astana, Dave Brailsford at Team Sky and Eusebio Unzue at Movistar. They are all keen to discuss the idea and I believe they will discuss it during the Tour de France presentation next week. Let’s hope and pray.

Brailsford thinks it is a good idea, Astana is keen, and Unzue too, so everyone seems keen.

Have you spoken to the UCI about it?

I’m surprised and concerned that the UCI has not voiced an opinion. Ultimately, it’s not the Grand Tour organisers’ business, or the team owners’ business – it's up to the UCI, or a project such as the Project Avignon, which I think already has 11 member teams and lobbies race organisers.

I think it’s up to the Project Avignon, especially up to the UCI, and also to the Grand Tour organisers to finalise this idea.

I'm glad I initiated the idea. I'm not pretending to own this idea, or to sponsor solely this idea, or to dominate it. I have my own business. I have to run my bank.

But I had this idea as a businessman. I have been in business for 30 years and I have created four businesses, so I know marketing, I know business, and I think it’s a good idea to start to change cycling.

But it’s up to the UCI and I’m very surprised and concerned that they never even commented on this idea.

When do you think the challenge could be first held?

For me, the sooner it happens the better it is. For the next year it may be hard.

I think it would be a huge victory if all four of them would start the Giro and Tour double. That’s what Alberto Contador has already confirmed, so why don’t Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali join him? That would be good. Let’s start with the double this year and see how it evolves.

I think next year's Giro is quite easy. I was at the Giro presentation in Milan last week and this is the easiest Giro d’Italia for many, many years.

Having such a relatively easy Giro, I think you can do the Giro-Tour double.

Why did you single out Contador, Froome, Nibali and Quintana?

There are only a few riders who would be able to do it. I named four riders, but I would say there are ten or 15 riders in the peloton that would be able to do it.

But the issue is, they all have to be in the same condition; they all have to start and finish the Grand Tours. Of course, there can be crashes, but normally they should all start and finish the Grand Tours, and then they will be in similar or equal condition.

Nibali described the challenge as “not humane”. What are your thoughts?

It’s hard, but they are getting a lot of money, those guys. They get a big pay cheque, almost like good football players. We all know they are getting millions and millions of euros annually, so it's the same amount of money as top football players.

They have a good salary and they have to work for that salary. Nothing comes easy.

Are you not concerned the challenge may encourage doping?

You might know doping practises more than me, but I think it’s bullsh*t. You can ride all the Grand Tours.

The guy from Lotto, Adam Hansen, has done ten Grand Tours continuously, and he has been put through the anti-doping controls in all of them, so physically you can do it.

Ideally, I would like to see all of the Grand Tours be shortened – that would help. If each Grand Tour was two weeks instead of three, that would help.

Obviously it is physically very tough and very challenging to have three weeks racing, four weeks off, another three weeks racing, another three weeks off, and then finally another three weeks racing. But it’s doable, and I’m sure it’s doable without doping.

However, the shortening of the Grand Tours would help, or maybe push them apart a little bit more. The Giro and Tour have a month between them, which is good, but maybe the Vuelta could be pushed a little further away and maybe start in the first week of September.

There are things that could be done, but that’s up to the three Grand Tour organisers, the Project Avignon and the UCI to work on it.

Are you not concerned that the challenge could diminish smaller stage races?

But they are already diminished by default. Look at what we’ve got: the spring Classics campaign, then the three Grand Tours, and then the world championships and Il Lombardia at the end of the season.

The rest of the races are no so important, for the fans, for the teams or for the TV audiences. Those races are smaller by default. That’s what it is. That’s the world we live in.

And for those races, such as Tour Down Under, Tour of California or Tour of Britain, they have other riders. We have 30 riders in our team, so each rider has his own piece of the cake.

Here, we’re talking about big stars and the most important races. The others can compete in stage races and in the Classics.

What are Contador’s thoughts on the challenge?

I haven’t discussed it with him, but he is professional. We are paying him a lot of money and if the team decides, he should do it. That’s what it is.

But I have never pushed Alberto. He went to the Vuelta with a broken leg, basically, and he won it. But it was his decision. I would never make an injured athlete race. No way. It was his decision. I didn’t even call him. I heard about his decision in the media.

But I’m paying the money for the athletes to race and if all the teams agree to the challenge, he has to go.