My name is Elin - A pro cycling lover's reflections

Contador says "it's not the moment to talk about" reported Riis-Tinkov talks

Category: Cycling

Reports say that Oleg Tinkov has agreed to purchase Riis Cycling, the holding company behind the Saxo Bank team. Gazzetta dello Sport reported reported on Sunday that Bjarne Riis had agreed to sell Riis Cycling to Tinkov for €7 million. This happened three months after it had been announced that Tinkoff Bank would no longer be a co-sponsor in 2014.

Saxo Bank and Tinkov have denied that any deal has been done, although it seems like the Russian is still in talks with Riis and several other teams for 2014. Tinkov recently negotiated with Cannondale, but it ultimately came to nothing.

Tinkov criticized Alberto Contador's Tour de France performance this summer. Contador is contracted to Riis Cycling for the next two seasons, but so far, he does not want to discuss the prospect of riding a team owned by Tinkov.

“It’s not the moment to talk about it,” Contador told Gazzetta dello Sport via text message.

A spokesman for Contador told Biciciclismo that Contador was not aware of the possible sale of the team.

“The story has nothing to do with the facts. There is no agreement, and if there was, it would be very new,” he said. “At this point, we don’t know anything about it, we’re left just with the denials of both parties in the press."

Today, Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Riis has signed off on the sale of the team for just under €7 million. According to the reports, he would earn almost €1 million a season in a management role. The team would operate with a budget of €11 and 13 million per season.
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