The end of an amazing cycling career was signaled today on the Champs-Elysées. One of my favorite pros, Viateslav Ekimov will retire from the pro ranks in September.
Viatcheslav Ekimov rode clear as the peloton parted for him approaching the first of 8 laps of the Champs-Elysées. Eki (also known as ‘Slava’, Russian for Glory) then led the peloton across the line and saluted the crowd for many years of support before retiring back to the peloton. The peloton gave the Eki this honor as the oldest rider of this years tour, for his amazing career and as a sign of the immense respect that the cyclists have for the “old man” of the peloton.
Viatcheslav later gave an informal video interview to a Eurosport correspondent:
Actually, I can say that today was my last Tour de France, so 15 participations…I wish to do more, but I think it’s pretty much done.
There was a lot of speculation that he would continue for one more Tour to tie Joop Zoetemelk’s record of 16 Tours, or even go through 2008 and set a new record as well as compete in the Bejing Olympics at 42 years old.
Today however Eki’s Tour participation career is complete, but what a career it has been. Since joining the Pro ranks in 1990 he has missed only two Tours — 1999 when his team Amica Chips was not invited to the Tour, and in 2005 when he was forced to miss the Tour after a horrendous accident while in training broke his sternum and a vertebrae. More than just participating in 15 tours, he has completed every one of them finishing as high as 18th (1995) and taking a stage win in 1991.
As a cyclist, Eki’s pro-cycling palmares is both long and impressive with some 60 victories including the GP Eddie Merkx, Tour DuPont, Tour of China, two Olympic Golds, one Olympic Silver and stages of most Tours, and a number of one day races. Somewhere I will eventually find a complete palmares including his world pursuit championships and amateur victories as well and all his top ten finishes. It’s quite a list.
The good news for fans of Discovery Channel Pro Cycling and Ekimov is that he will be assuming an assistant director position with the team starting with the 2007 season.
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