| | By Andrew Hood
ABC Sports Online
VITRÉ, France -- Viatcheslav Ekimov has signed a contract to stay with the United States Postal Service team for the 2001 season. A former Tour stage-winner and Olympic gold medalist in the team pursuit, Ekimov lends Lance Armstrong a steady hand in the long, hard flat stages in big races like the Tour de France.
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Viatcheslav Ekimov is a key member of the U.S.P.S. team. |
"Lance is the real leader of the team," says Ekimov, now fifth overall in the Tour, just 43 seconds behind Laurent Jalabert. "He knows what to ask for. If you work
hard for him, he goes 100 percent to win. He appreciates it. He's not like
other leaders who will just quit after you've worked so hard for them and say
that's it, I feel tired. "I've never had a leader like Lance. You know he can win this race. When he wins, we all win."
Ekimov has seen a lot in his career. He grew up in the former Soviet Union
and began racing at age 12. When the Soviet Union collapsed, he moved to
Europe and turned pro in 1989, where he quickly earned a name for himself as one of
the toughest riders in the world.
"I did my first time trial when I was 12-years-old. I was in the cycling
academy in the old Soviet Union from that age. Since I was 13-years-old, I've
ridden 28,000 kilometers a year, every year.
"I am still riding just as hard. My results have never been bad, but last year was a disaster. I had no motivation last year to train. I thought it was better to stay home and play with my son."
Armstrong, who used to spar with Ekimov in the defunct Tour duPont race encouraged the team to re-sign him after he left U.S. Postal at the end of 1998. Ekimov rode for the U.S.P.S. for two years and was
key to the team gaining the respect it needed to earn its first Tour
bid in 1997.
"Last year, there was a misunderstanding with Mark [Gorski] and we started
playing a game about money," Ekimov says. "Last year, I signed with Amica Chips because it's the only team that called. I signed with them on Dec. 25. I thought my career was finished.
"This year, I was very excited to be back on the team. I rode 8,000 kilometers in December and January to be ready."
Andrew Hood is a freelance writer based in Spain. This is his fifth Tour de France.
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