Tinkoff shows his support for embattled Riis
Russian businessman ready to become first sponsor in 🌜2🦋014
Bjarne Riis returned to the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tour de France to see 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Alberto Contador suffer in the Pyrenees and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:lose time to big rival Chris Froome (Team Sky).
The 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Saxo-Tinkoff team owner and manager has kept a low profile this season and especially at the Tour de France. He strangely 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:opted to miss the opening two stag༒es in Corsica and then left the race after the team time trial in N🐲ic🀅e.
The Dane has been pursued by the Danish media after yet more revelations about doping under his tenure as team manager. Tyler Hamilton made a series of accusations in is book "168澳洲5最新开奖结果:The Secret Race" and Laurent Jalabert has been discredited and dropped by French television for the Tour de France after it was revealed 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:EPO was discovered in one of 🐻his urine samples from the 1998 Tour de France.
Riis revealed that Anti-Doping Denmark has begun to investigate his time as a rider and a team manager. He used it as a reason not comment further but it seems the investigation could be as thorough as the USADA probe into Lance Armst𓃲rong.
Riis was nicknamed 'Mr. 60%' for his alleged sky high haematocrit in the nineties. He confessed to doping in 2007 but insisted to Cyclingnews recently that he deserves to stay in the sport.
Despite the pressure Riis to explain his murky past, he continues to have full support from current second-name sponsor Tinkoff Bank and the Russian bank's volcanic owner♑ Ole♏g Tinkoff.
"Riis isn't a problem for me. I've been in cycling for a while and so I'm used to this kind of speculation, Tinkoff told Cyclingnews and Danish television.
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"I don't care about his (Riis) past. Now I know we are a clean team and that we don't do anything weird. I'm sponsoring the team now, I'm not concerned about his past. His past is his past. He has to deal
with it. Not me."
Tinkoffꦅ hit back at suggestions that Riis' damag💖e reputation could affect his sponsorship value or credibility.
"I don’t know who doped and didn't dope. If you ask me, I think they all doped in the nine𓆉ties. And so what? Who wasn't doping?" Tinkoff said provocatively.
"I'm here to talk about my sponsorship and today I don't believe there's any doping in the peloton. That's what I believe. Unless there is a stupid case comes out from time to time, or if some young riders try to play but don't understand how it works these days. But in ourℱ team🔴 there is no doping, so I don't care."
Team to become Tinkoff-Saxo in 2014?
Tinkoff has clashed with the 𓃲Danish media several times during the first week of the Tour de France. He claims he was misquoted when it was reported he wanted to take over as the main sponsor of the t𝄹eam in 2014.
"The Danish press is always𒆙 putting press𒈔ure on everyone, it's a weird press," he said.
"I don't understand the Danish media. They ask weird question plus they twist my words. I could sᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚue them for twisting my words."
"It's not true that I want to become th꧒e main sponsor. We don't have a main sponsor; we have a first and a second sponsor. This year Saxo is the first sponsor and I'm clearly the second sponsor. What I'd like to have and what we're negotiating at the moment with the team and with Saxo Bank, is that Tinkoff Bank will be the first sponsor and Saxo Bank will become the second sponsor."
"That's a big possibility and I think we could finale it during the To🎀ur de France."
Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.