On the second day of Discovery Channel Team training camp, I had the
opportunity to sit down with Eki and talk about training, the team, and yes,
even that infamous hand gesture from Stage 20 of the 2004 Tour de France.
Viatcheslav Ekimov at the Discovery Channel Team camp. Click for
larger image. Photo by Cathy Mehl.
How was the training ride today?
Eki: A little long for the second day. I have jet lag. We stayed in a hotel
Monday night because the road was blocked.
When had you arrived in Maryland? A few days before the team presentation?
No, it was all in a row! For me it was totally a nightmare. I took my plane
in Barcelona. There were some problems and we were sitting four hours on the
plane without it moving. They were fixing the plane and it was full of people
inside. So I missed my flight in London, and I got to Washington DC late. I had
a very short night’s sleep, only two hours. Then the big presentation and then
fly to LA.
Well, now you’re here and the weather has cleared up. Every year when the
team arrives the weather gets good, so we want to thank you for that! I know a
lot of people ask you about all the Tours you’ve ridden, fourteen of them. Do
you see a reason you need to limit the number of future Tours you will ride?
Well, I think this year I have a good chance of riding the Tour. This year’s
Tour has less mountains, two mountain stages were cut. More flat stages. And the
TTT is very important this year. I think there is a chance for me to start. And
then for next year we’ll have to see.
If Lance doesn’t race the Tour, you would still race the Tour? Your
participation doesn’t have to be linked with his, correct?
I would still try. Why not? The record for most Tours is sixteen and only one
Dutch guy has that. But two or three guys have fifteen. I think sixteen is not a
problem, but seventeen could be overwhelming!
You’ve been a professional for sixteen years. How do you stay motivated
all the time? How do you get up and love to keep riding the bike?
Well, if you take cycling as a job and you accept your job seriously, then it
becomes easier. The only thing you need to know is what races you’ll do in the
year and then you focus on certain periods. It’s almost impossible to go the
entire year and be at the same (fitness) level, so I am focusing on the Classic
season because those races are ones I can do well. I would like to ride and do
well in the Tour of Georgia in the United States. Then I would take a break. And
start the summer for the Tour de France. May be later the Tour of Poland.
With no Olympics this year it eases off your requirements for training in
that direction.
Especially the year after Olympic Games is a hard year. Being on the Olympic
podium is like being in the sky! And you have to come back down.
(I told Eki that I wasn’t sure if he realized how many fans he had in
America, but on the day of the Olympic TT, with him, Tyler and Bobby on the
podium, it almost felt like an USA sweep, as we think of him as one of our own.
He laughed at that one.)
I saw you race at the Tour de Georgia last year. That was really fun. Did
you like that race?
Oh, yeah, I loved that race. The atmosphere was totally great. To see all
those people. We had a good team, and a big camper bus.
I saw when the guy crashed the [team] bus into the stop sign! I heard a
big scraping noise and looked up to see the stop sign sticking out of the side
of the bus!
We had a special driver! That was a great time, a really great time.
What did you think of the stage to Brasstown Bald?
As far as I can remember, in all US races there is some special stage or
climb in the race. It’s always like this. I think it’s okay for one day.
The crowds were insane!
It was nice to be inside that crowd. Really nice feelings.
People treated you well?
Oh yeah! Totally no problem.
I saw you race in San Francisco also. What do you think of that race?
Well, it’s a hard race, and especially since this race happens in September.
It’s a little bit late in the season. And also it’s so far to travel. From
Europe you need four or five days to be in the US before the race to get
settled, but we never get that much time. We arrive on Wednesday, start training
on Thursday, so we train Thursday, Friday and Saturday, plus all the team
sponsors and meetings.
Eki before the start of the 2002 San Francisco Grand Prix. Photo
by Jaime Nichols.
Yeah, I saw you at Niketown.
Yeah, Niketown. So you are never in the hotel (resting); you’re either on a
bike or somewhere else and it’s difficult. It’s a quick trip. I like this race.
It’s real fun and it’s a very selective race which is what I prefer. And if you
feel good, you can do well.
Do you come to the United States for reasons other than cycling?
So far only for cycling. But I have my childhood dream to cross America with
a camper or a car. Take it easy. Take my time. See some nice places. Grand
Canyon. Yosemite. Take a tourist guide and just drive. Take months and months,
just take it easy. So I think someday I will do that, after I stop cycling.
Because I love the States. It’s a nice country and there are nice people. There
are many things to see. But with a bike race you miss all these things.
But you miss seeing all the scenery in Europe, too, right?
But I’m living there so it’s no big deal. If you miss something, it stays on
your side all the time so you can go back! (Pauses) But you never go back!
But you COULD go back!
Exactly! But to the States, it’s pretty far. To come over here you have to be
ready and to find the time to see things. You have to plan it.
Do you live in Gerona like some of your teammates?
No, Tortosa.
Is that close to Gerona? Do you train with teammates in Gerona?
No, it’s 300K south of Gerona.
Do you have a group of riders to train with that live near you?
Photo by Cathy Mehl.
 There are a couple of riders. But I train alone. I’m used to training alone.
You prefer that?
Yes.
It’s not hard to get up and go do it?
No,
it’s much easier once you get used to doing it this way than to go with a group.
First of all, you concentrate on the things you are doing on the bike. You can
focus on some climbs or some part of the training course, and you don’t talk to
others and no one is disturbing you. You go at your own tempo. It’s great.
I want to ask you about the Team Time Trial in the 2004 Tour. I know there
had been internet chat about whether Noval was experienced enough to be on the
team. And then during the TTT he was dropped. I know it wasn’t your decision to
leave him behind, and I understand that of course the team keeps going. But was
it upsetting to you at all during the event to have to leave him behind? He
seemed so young and vulnerable, I wondered if the older teammates felt bad about
what was happening? I guess this is a chick type question!
Well, the Team Time Trial is a very special race and it’s more special than a
Time Trial. In the Time Trial you just compete against the clock and yourself.
But with the Team Time Trial you have to be ready from the very first moment.
Sometimes, especially the young guys, they take it too easy in the warm-up and
think they will take it easy at first in the race and catch up later.
But a team goes straight to the red zone, and if you are not able to follow
the team, you are dropped. It’s just a fact. A team goes 10K faster than you can
do. Maybe after 30K you would feel better, but the team is not there anymore,
they’ve gone up the road. That’s why I say it’s very special. But the Tour is
not only the Team Time Trial. Benjamin did excellent work in the following
weeks.
I liked it that the team waited for him before the podium presentation and
seemed to encourage him, telling him there was a lot more Tour to ride. And he
totally proved himself in the mountains.
I think the team would be more disappointed if guys like me or George were
dropped from the Team Time Trial. Then it’s a real unit dropped, part of the big
engines. It wasn’t too bad for us. We need to have nine guys to do well and have
our recovery time. But it’s better we ride without one slower guy than have that
one guy slow down the entire team. It’s very important to be steady in this
event.
It’s a beautiful event. It’s so much fun to watch, and it’s exciting. And
you guys sure look happy when you win!
Exactly!
You have some new riders on the team. Do you have much interaction with
the new, younger riders, or do the older riders kind of keep to themselves?
Yeah, I interact with them. The young guys don’t hesitate to ask something or
to ride side by side with us. I think the atmosphere is good.
Yes, when the group rode by today it was like a language course was taking
place!
Fifteen nations!
Do you like coming to camp?
I do. It’s nice. The only problem for me is…..
It’s too damn far!
Yeah! First of all it’s far. Secondly we don’t have enough time to recover
from our traveling here and we have to be good from the first day. And the third
issue is that it’s not for long enough, it’s a pretty short time. And sometimes
you look at this training camp and you think of it as the first race. Because
for me today was an easy day. But that last climb we did, I thought to myself,
“Oh, I think we’ve started racing now!” And then everyday it’s more, more, more.
But it’s okay. I like it.
I think I read somewhere that you thought you’d have around 4000K in your
legs by camp.
More. Yeah, I have 5500K now.
Popovych is on your team now. Do you know him?
He’s a pretty young guy and the first time I met him was last year. I knew he
was going to sign with the team so I started paying attention to him. But I
never knew him before. I think he’s a good guy. Today we spent four hours
together and he asked a lot of questions.
The team seems like a friendly group. Is that true? Or do some people have
a hard time fitting in? Does Johan take special care to make sure that doesn’t
happen?
So far I think we don’t have any guys that are hard to get along with. I
think all the guys are feeling like part of the family. But we’ve only just
started! Nobody’s tired of anybody yet!
Right. You’re not avoiding anyone in the lobby yet!
It’s only the second day, so maybe crisis is on the way! But so far I think
it’s going to be okay.
Ekimov at the HEW Cyclassics 2003. Photo by Christine Grein,
Capture the Peloton.
Do you know any of the other new signings? Hammond? Danielson? Beppu?
I’ve seen those guys in the races sometimes, but if you don’t know for sure
this guy is going to sign next year with the team, then you don’t pay much
attention to them as they are just one of two hundred riders. When you hear that
this guy is coming to the team you start checking out the guy, how he is moving
the bike, how he is doing in the race.
Sometimes the deals happen at the end of the year when all the races are over
so you have to read about it on the internet.
You seem to enjoy riding your bike. So can you describe to me your perfect
day on a bike? How many miles would you ride? Where would you ride? Who would
you be with?
The perfect day would be sunny, no wind, 20 to 25C, in Spain, rolling hills,
no mountains, just rolling hills, and between five and six hours, riding on my
own.
On your own?
Yes, on my own.
Do you listen to music when you ride?
Yes, I listen to my iPod.
What are you listening to right now?
Oh, so many things. For a warm up maybe rap music, Fifty Cent. Then switch to
more hard music. Maybe Metalica. It depends on the thing you need to do on the
bike. Sometimes you need some music to push you harder.
Okay, so now describe for me your perfect day not on a bike. What would
you do?
(Hestitates) Oh, ummmm…
Well, if you didn’t have to actually physically travel to be there, just
poof and you’re there, where would you be?
Probably I would stay somewhere in Russia. Maybe my place, having fun with
friends. Bar-be-ques. Sauna.
You live in St. Petersburg?
Yeah, St. Petersburg.
Do you have a big family?
My mom and my brother live in St. Petersburg. And my wife and kid live in
Spain.
Does your family join you at any of the races?
Now they get used to it, especially my mom. She’s gotten used to it that I’m
a professional racer but every year she asks me to stop, stop, stop. And already
it’s 20 years in a row that she’s asked!
Is she worried about you?!
Yeah, she thinks I’m going to get hurt. Mom is always Mom!
That’s right; we moms don’t back down! What does she want you to do
instead of racing?
Well, I don’t know! I have no idea! I’ve asked her that question: “Mom, what
is the job?!”
So what do you see yourself doing when you retire? Do you like being
involved with a team? Would you want to be a director?
I think the dream would be to have a sport director position in a team. I’d
like to make the strategies for the race and give instructions to the guys. I’d
like to organize the whole unit of the team. I think I can do that. I’ve been a
professional for sixteen years. I know what is good for a rider and what is not
good.
You’ve been a professional for such a long time at such a high level of
competition and success, and several Olympic Games, I think you have a
fascinating story. Do you have any interest in having a biography or
autobiography written about your life?
I will do that. Now I am looking for a good author, because normally I don’t
have time to do that. It must be an experienced author and I will just give them
ideas and they will write the book.
Like Lance did with Sally Jenkins?
Exactly.
Well, you have to promise you’ll publish it in English as well as Russian.
Oh, yes, if my book will be released, there will be two versions, English and
Russian.
You’ve had a long career so far. You’d have a lot of chapters!
I have my diary from everyday.
A personal diary?
Yeah. I write out the highlights, hours, kilometers, how we did in a race,
training, feelings. I’ve been doing that for more than twenty years.
Oh my gosh!
Every day. I have a record of every day of my career.
You’re so methodical.
When I started, my coach taught me and it was an obligation to the team. And
I got used to it and it’s helpful. Especially when you train on your own and
there is no coach in sight, you just take a good year, you open the book and you
see what you did in the preparation and you can repeat that.
What are your goals for this season?
I would like to do a good Classics season, especially Flanders and
Paris-Roubaix.
One last question. In Stage 20 of last year’s Tour, the team had to chase
down Simeoni. We saw on tv that you made a little hand-gesture as the team
caught him There was much discussion on the internet after that about what the
gesture meant. So my question for you is, were you being a Texan or an Italian
that day?
(Big laugh from Eki at this point) A Texan! That was sad. To see a guy doing
these things, it’s hard to talk about. He tried to be against the entire
peloton. It’s just too much. In the peloton I gave him this sign (demonstrates
the Texas “Hook ‘em” sign) for one second without any word. In the peloton
sometimes it moves left and sometimes it moves right. There are so many things
that can happen and bad words and bad signs are made all the time. No one says
anything or complains. Everyone just takes it as it comes, as part of the job.
But if this guy is getting pissed just because of one sign, he probably had
better stop racing. He did not say anything to me about the sign, just went to
talk to journalists. I don’t take this guy seriously. I have no time for him.
Well, we were glad Eki had time for the Daily Peloton, and we wish him
another successful season, with special hopes that he racks up that fifteenth
Tour come July. Living proof that hard work and dedication bring about cycling
success, Viatcheslav Ekimov is a cycling icon, and was a pleasure to
meet.
Photo by Cathy Mehl.
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