Tinkoff, you gotta love the guy...

[MattTuck]

Not sure this is enough to entice these guys to go for the 3-fer, but I like that he's willing to throw his money around to mix things up. And yes, I realize this has as much to do with pumping his own team's contador as it does to do with actually making the racing more interesting.



The Russian, who owns the Tinkoff-Saxo team, has challenged the sport’s best general classification riders to fight it out in all three grand tours next season, and he’s offering 1 million Euro total ($1,267,910) — 250,000 Euro each — to Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana, Vincenzo Nibali, and his own Alberto Contador, if the men compete against each other in the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España.
Read more at http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/10/news/tinkoff-dares-rivals-come-grand-tour-throwdown-1-6-million_348736#ybLSe8JT3O77dzPs.99

[RobJ]

The race promoters gotta love him. He's helping them if these guys show and saving them their own money. I think it's a great idea and good to see something positive. Sure he's pumping his own guy, but if Contador is in for the 3, then maybe the others will follow. It can only be good for the sport.

[Dr Luxurious]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!

suddenly the GTs are interesting to me...

[CunegoFan]

Cycling needs a qualification system for the TdF where a certain number of points have to be accumulated over two years to ride it. The top riders not really racing against each other except at the Tour (where half crash out in the first week) reduces interest in the sport. It has also produced the super specialized GT riders, some of whom have zero bike handling skills, instead of the all-rounders who used to compete at the Tour. There is no way a rider like Phil Anderson could place in the top five these days.

[alessandro]

This is all about Tinkoff, and not for any intangible like the good of the sport, whatever that is. For one, see Juliet Macur's history of what Lance did with the Thrift Drug prize in 1993, recapped here:
http://www.irishpeloton.com/2014/10/the-million-dollar-nonsense/

Two, Inner Ring gets that Tinkoff is all about provocation:
Oleg Tinkoff's Indecent Proposal
http://inrng.com/2014/10/tinkov-million-euro-grand-tour-proposal/

Three, €250,000 isn't very much of an inducement to a GT winner; guys like those four get salaries in the €3-4 million range.

Four, Oleg didn't even pledge his own money--he promised that Tinkoff Bank would make the payout. Smart fella.

I like when he drunk tweets, though.

[berserk87]

Velownews.com just posted an article stating that Nibali was not interested due to the difficulty in recovering from GT to GT, and also stating that none of the dudes solicited need the money:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/10/news/nibali-dismisses-tinkovs-million-euro-triple-crown-challenge_349012

[rain dogs]

The last legit GT guy to do this was Carlos Sastre I believe. He did ok, but certainly couldn't compete for overall in all three).

I understand where the motivation comes from. It's like Tennis. It sucks when a Grand Slam is missing Nadal or Djokavic.

Thing is, it isn't tennis, it's cycling and racing so much will wear the big guys out. Which maybe increases parity but when someone second tier like Pinot (just a random name) holds out and does one and wins... how would Tinkov feel then?

[verticaldoug]

Tinkoff figures he'll have fun with his money before Putin takes it all... It has no value to him.

[ultraman6970]

I was thinking the same thing, ut doubt he even works in russian coins since a very long time :D

[krismac23]

I know Nibali said no but I'm hoping they all take too it. bring back the panache and hard man attitude.