Viatcheslav Ekimov Explained
Viatcheslav Vladimirovich Ekimov (Russian Вячеслав Владимирович Екимов; born 4 February 1966), nicknamed Eki, is a Russian former professional racing cyclist. A triple Olympic gold medalist, he was awarded the title of Russian Cyclist of the Century in 2001.
Biography
Ekimov was born in Vyborg, and started training as a cyclist at age 12 with a bicycle school affiliated with the famous centre of Aleksandr Kuznetsov. He trained in Leningrad at Lokomotiv and later Armed Forces sports society during the Soviet era.
Ekimov won three Olympic gold medals:[3] in the track team pursuit in Seoul (1988) for the USSR, and in an upset, in the road time trial in Sydney (2000) for Russia. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Ekimov won the silver medal for Russia in the men's road individual time trial, losing to American Tyler Hamilton. Hamilton later admitted to doping and Ekimov, who had raced for many more years than Tyler with the infamous Lance Armstrong and Johan Bruyneel partnership, was promoted to gold.[4]
Ekimov joined the USPS team in 1997 as its first key international signing, briefly retiring in 2001 before rejoining the team the following year. In the 2003 Tour de France Ekimov placed 10th in the prologue. He was a key force in the winning team time trial effort in stage four and was important to Lance Armstrong's fifth Tour victory both on the flats and in the mountains. He missed the 2005 Tour de France due to injuries received in a training ride with Armstrong in Texas.[5] During the final stage of the 2006 Tour de France, now racing for the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, he announced that the 2006 Tour would be his last. He was honored by the peloton on the final stage, who allowed him to lead them over the line on the first of the eight laps of the Champs-Élysées. Ekimov started and finished 15 Tours de France, tying him with Lucien Van Impe for the second most Tour finishes, behind Joop Zoetemelk and Sylvain Chavanel.
In September 2006 he finished riding for Discovery, but stayed with the team as Assistant Directeur Sportif to Johan Bruyneel.[6] He helped guide the Discovery riders during the U.S. Pro Cycling Championships in 2006 as well as the Tour of California and the Tour de Georgia.
On 9 September 2009, it was announced he would join as Directeur Sportif.[7]
In October 2012, he was announced as the general manager of the Russian .[8] The UCI, in a letter written to Katusha Team, denied them entrance into the 2013 World Tour. Among the many ethical violations the UCI cited, the appointment of Ekimov was among them for reasons unspecified.[9] After the end of 2016 season Ekimov stepped down from the role.[10]
Major results
- 1988
1st Team pursuit, Olympic Games 1st Overall Regio-Tour
1st Overall Vuelta al Táchira
1st Prologue (ITT) & Stages 7 & 8 (ITT)
1st Overall Tour de Normandie
2nd Overall Circuit Cycliste Sarthe
1st Stage 1 (ITT)
- 1989
1st Overall Circuit Franco-Belge
1st Stage 5b
1st Stage 1 Tour de Trump
2nd Overall Tour of Sweden
2nd Overall Circuit Cycliste Sarthe
3rd Overall Tour de Normandie
3rd Overall Vuelta al Táchira
1st Prologue (ITT) & Stage 1
- 1990
1st Individual pursuit, UCI Track World Championships
1st Stage 4 (TTT) Tour de France
1st Stage 3 (ITT) Critérium International
1st Stage 5 Vuelta Asturias
1st Stage 5 Tour du Vaucluse
3rd Overall Tour Méditerranéen
1st Stage 5 (ITT)
4th Overall Tour of Ireland
5th Overall Tour de Trump
9th Overall Tour de l'Avenir
- 1991
1st Points race, UCI Track World Championships
1st Stage 20 Tour de France
1st Stage 3 (ITT) Critérium International
4th Overall Vuelta a Murcia
5th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
7th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
9th Overall Tour of Ireland
9th Overall Three Days of De Panne
9th Milano–Torino
9th Rund um den Henninger Turm
10th Overall Euskal Bizikleta
- 1992
1st Züri-Metzgete
1st Druivenkoers-Overijse
1st Stage 4 (TTT) Tour de France
1st Stage 4 Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
2nd Overall Three Days of De Panne
3rd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
1st Stage 5
3rd Overall GP du Midi Libre
1st Stage 6 (ITT)
3rd Grand Prix des Nations
3rd Trofeo Melinda
3rd GP Rik Van Steenbergen
3rd Baden–Baden
4th La Flèche Wallonne
4th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
6th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
6th GP du canton d'Argovie
6th Rund um den Henninger Turm
9th Giro di Campania
- 1993
1st Clásica de Almería
1st Stage 5 Tour de Suisse
1st Stage 5 Vuelta Asturias
2nd Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
1st Stage 2
2nd Grand Prix Impanis-Van Petegem
3rd Road race, National Road Championships
5th Overall Ronde van Nederland
5th Japan Cup Cycle Road Race
5th Rund um den Henninger Turm
6th Overall Three Days of De Panne
8th Liège–Bastogne–Liège
9th Overall Vuelta a Murcia
1st Stage 2
9th GP de Fourmies
10th Giro di Lombardia
- 1994
1st Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
1st Stage 2
1st Overall Tour DuPont
1st Stages 5 (ITT) & 11 (ITT)
1st Veenendaal–Veenendaal
1st Stage 2 Tour de Luxembourg
2nd Wincanton Classic
2nd E3 Harelbeke
2nd Overall Kellogg's Tour
3rd Overall Paris–Nice
4th Overall Ronde van Nederland
5th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
5th Overall Three Days of De Panne
- 1995
1st Stage 5 Tour de Suisse
2nd Overall Ronde van Nederland
1st Stage 3b
2nd Overall Tour DuPont
1st Stage 11 (ITT)
4th Paris–Roubaix
4th Overall Vuelta a Burgos
7th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
7th Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
8th Overall Paris–Nice
8th Tour of Flanders
- 1996
1st Overall Three Days of De Panne
4th Tour of Flanders
4th E3 Harelbeke
5th Grand Prix des Nations
5th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
6th Overall Vuelta a Murcia
1st Stage 2
7th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
8th Paris–Roubaix
8th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
8th Japan Cup Cycle Road Race
8th Josef Voegeli Memorial
9th Time trial, UCI Road World Championships
- 1997
1st Road race, National Road Championships
1st Stage 5 Vuelta a Castilla y León
2nd Paris–Camembert
3rd Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
1st Stage 3
4th Overall Paris–Nice
1st Stage 7b (ITT)
4th Overall Ronde van Nederland
5th Overall Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
5th GP du canton d'Argovie
8th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
1st Stages 2 & 4 (ITT)
9th Overall Tour de Romandie
10th Tour of Flanders
10th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
- 1998
1st Stage 6 Prudential Tour
2nd Overall Ronde van Nederland
2nd Trofeo Luis Puig
3rd Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
5th Overall Four Days of Dunkirk
7th Tour of Flanders
7th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
7th Scheldeprijs
9th Time trial, UCI Road World Championships
- 1999
1st Stage 15 Vuelta a España
1st Stage 5 (ITT) Tour de Suisse
1st Stage 3 Gran Premio Internacional Telecom
1st Stage 3 Vuelta al Táchira
- 2000
1st Time trial, Olympic Games
1st Overall Three Days of De Panne
1st Grand Prix Eddy Merckx (with Lance Armstrong)
4th Overall Tour de Pologne
10th Chrono des Herbiers
- 2001
1st Stage 5 (ITT) Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
3rd Overall Three Days of De Panne
1st Stage 3b (ITT)
3rd EnBW Grand Prix (with Víctor Hugo Peña)
6th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
7th Overall Ronde van Nederland
7th Philadelphia International Cycling Classic
10th Overall Volta ao Algarve
- 2002
4th San Francisco Grand Prix
5th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
6th Grand Prix des Nations
- 2003
1st Overall Ronde van Nederland
1st Stage 4 (ITT)
1st Stage 4 (TTT) Tour de France
3rd Paris–Roubaix
3rd San Francisco Grand Prix
5th Overall Three Days of De Panne
6th Time trial, UCI Road World Championships
6th Trofeo Laigueglia
7th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
8th Tour of Flanders
- 2004
1st Time trial, Olympic Games
1st Stage 4 (TTT) Tour de France
2nd Overall Ronde van Nederland
1st Stage 4 (ITT)
2nd Overall Tour du Languedoc-Roussillon
5th Overall Tour de Georgia
5th Grand Prix Eddy Merckx
- 2005
1st Stage 4 (ITT) Three Days of De Panne
- 2006
2nd Eindhoven Team Time TrialGrand Tour general classification results timeline
Notes and References
- http://www.olympic.org/content/results-and-medalists/gamesandsportsummary/?sport=31494&games=2004%2f1&event=31497 Cycling - Road Time Trial results, Athens 2004
- Hamilton, the winner of the golden medal at the time trial at the 2004 Summer Olympics, confessed doping use and was stripped of his gold medal, Ekimov who finished in second position, has been awarded the gold.
- Viatcheslav Ekimov Olympic Results . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417215252/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ye/vyacheslav-yekimov-1.html . dead . 17 April 2020 . 9 July 2016.
- News: Tyler Hamilton stripped of Athens Olympics gold after doping admission. The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. 10 August 2012. 2 November 2012.
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/4503913.stm Ekimov blow hits Armstrong's team
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/5367764.stm Discovery Channel axe 11 riders
- News: Ekimov to direct Armstrong's RadioShack in 2010. Cyclingnews. 9 September 2009. 2 November 2012.
- Web site: Confirmed: Ekimov new manager of Katusha Team. cyclingnews.com. en. 2020-04-13.
- Web site: UCI cites 'ethical reasons' for Katusha WorldTour snub. 2012-12-19. VeloNews.com. en-US. 2020-04-13.
- Web site: Ekimov steps down as Katusha general manager. cyclingnews.com. en. 2020-04-13.
