Gazprom–RusVelo (UCI team code: GAZ),[1] a part of the Russian Global Cycling Project and sponsored by Gazprom, is a Russian road and track cycling team that suspended its activities in 2022. It was founded in late 2011 and granted UCI Professional Continental status.[2] For its first season 2012 the team signed several ex-Team Katusha riders along with a few ones from Continental Team Itera–Katusha.
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| Team information | ||
|---|---|---|
| UCI code | GAZ | |
| Registered | Russia | |
| Founded | 2012 | |
| Discipline(s) | Road | |
| Status |
| |
| Bicycles | Look Cycles | |
| Website | Team home page | |
| Key personnel | ||
| General manager | Renat Khamidulin | |
| Team name history | ||
2012–2015 2016– | RusVelo Gazprom–RusVelo | |
| ||
RusVelo initially included both men's and women's rosters. The directors are Viatcheslav Ekimov, Oleg Grishkin, Egon van Kessel from the Netherlands, and Australian Henk Vogels. The General Manager was Heiko Salzwedel.
In March 2022 the team's licence was revoked by the UCI following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[3] On the same day bicycle manufacturer Look, and wheel provider Corima, both announced the cancellation of their sponsorship of the team.[4] Later that month, the team suspended its activities.[5]
Team history
editIn December 2012, RusVelo's request for a Professional Continental licence for the 2013 season was denied pending a review.[6] The squad were ultimately awarded a Professional Continental licence on 9 January 2013.[7]
Doping
editIn 2013 the team endured a spate of doping positives. In March Valery Kaikov for the, cancer-causing, banned compound GW501516 (Endurobol).[8] This was the first recorded positive for Endurobol.[9] In June at the 2013 Russian National Championships Roman Maikin and Artem Ovechkin tested positive for Fenoterol and received a six-month ban[10] Andrey Solomennikov tested positive for asthma medication and received a six-month suspension as well.[11] As a result, the team auto-suspended itself from competition.[12] In June 2015, the team received their fifth positive in less than two years when Petr Ignatenko tested positive for human growth hormone (hGH) in an out-of-competition test on April 8, this is only the second hGH positive since Patrick Sinkewitz returned an adverse analytical finding for the substance.[13]
Team roster
edit- As of 8 February 2022.[14]
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Major wins
editNational champions
edit
References
edit- ^ "Road - Teams". Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ "New russian pro-continental team RusVelo announced". Velonews.competitor.com. Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- ^ "UCI Status revoked from Russian and Belarusian teams". CyclingTips. 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ "Look and Corima cancel sponsorship of Russian backed team Gazprom-Rusvelo". CyclingTips. 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- ^ "Gazprom-RusVelo suspends racing activities during ongoing sponsor search". March 28, 2022.
- ^ "RusVelo, Andalucia miss Pro Continental licenses". VeloNews. Competitor Group, Inc. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
- ^ Farrand, Stephen (9 January 2013). "Katusha applies for Professional Continental licence to ride San Luis". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
- ^ Cycling News. "Rusvelo's Kaikov fails drug test". Cyclingnews.com.
- ^ "First cycling positive for GW501516, Rusvelo's Valery Kaykov provisionally suspended". velonation.com.
- ^ Cycling News. "Rusvelo face four-week suspension after three positives for asthma drug". Cyclingnews.com.
- ^ "Rusvelo team hit by three positive tests at Russian national championships". velonation.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
- ^ "Rusvelo team confirms its withdrawal from Giro dell Appennino after trio of positive tests". velonation.com.
- ^ "RusVelo's Ignatenko and Southeast's Carretero return positive doping tests". cyclingnews.com. 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Gazprom-RusVelo". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 8 February 2022.