Former WorldTour team owner Oleg Tinkov has chosen to part with his Russian citizenship amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. 

“I have taken the decision to exit my Russian citizenship,” the billionaire banker wrote on Instagram on Monday. “I can’t and won’t be associated with a fascist country that started a war with their peaceful neighbour and killing innocent people daily.”

Accompanying the post was an image of Tinkov’s certificate showing his Russian citizenship had been terminated.  

“I hope more prominent Russian businessmen will follow me, so it weakens Putin’s regime and his economy, and put him eventually to defeat,” he continued.

Earlier today, Tinkov shared another instagram post saying his original message had “mysteriously disappeared”, before reiterating his criticism of president Vladimir Putin. 

In April, having been placed on the UK sanctions list, Tinkov denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an “insane war”, claiming that 90% of Russians were against the Kremlin’s military action. Shortly after his statements, the bank tycoon told the FT that he had sold his 35% stake in Tinkoff Bank, which he founded in 2006, and gone into hiding.  

In his second Instagram post, Tinkov outlined his intention to seek legal help to change the name of his bank. “I hate when my brand/name is associated with the bank that collaborates with killers and blood,” he wrote. 

Tinkov entered the world of cycling in 2005 when he created his Tinkoff Restaurants team, composed of members of the Russian track cycling squad. 

In 2013, he acquired Bjarne Riis’s Team Saxo-Bank, having co-sponsored the team since the previous summer. At the start of the new season, the team was renamed Tinkoff-Saxo, incorporating the name of Tinkov’s bank. 

The following year, Alberto Contador won the Vuelta a España in the team's colours, before going on to win the Giro d’Italia in 2015. That same year, Tinkov signed Peter Sagan on a three-year deal. 

In the two years Sagan spent riding for Tinkoff, he won the road race at the World Championships twice as well as two Tour de France green jerseys. In November 2016, after having been the team’s sole sponsor for a season, Tinkov disbanded the team, citing the financial burden of the project. 

Tinkov was born in Russia and has held United States citizenship since 1996. 

Oleg Tinkov, the Russian former owner of the Tinkoff-Saxo cycling team, has come out against his country's invasion of Ukraine, saying that the war is "unthinkable and unacceptable".

The former Tinkoff boss, the WorldTour team which included Peter Sagan and Alberto Contador, posted a message on Instagram criticising Russia's invasion, which has been condemned by the international community.

“In Ukraine, innocent people are dying every day,” Tinkov wrote. “This is unthinkable and unacceptable. [Governments] should spend money on treating people, on research to defeat cancer, and not on war. We are against this war!” 

He has been a billionaire previously, and has been labelled an 'oligarch' in the past. He is one of several high-profile Russian businessmen who have spoken out against the war in recent days, including the owner of London's Evening Standard newspaper, Evgeny Lebedev. 

“We at the Tinkov Family Foundation save the lives of people with blood cancers,” Tinkov wrote. “We buy equipment, train nurses, and help build transplant centers. I myself, twice almost being on the other side of life over the past two years, I was convinced how fragile life is. And there is only one.” Tinkov finished with the hashtag #nowar.

The Russian has had health problems in recent years, being diagnosed with leukaemia in 2020.

Last October, Tinkov pleaded guilty to US felony charges of concealing more than $1 billion in assets to avoid paying tax, after he gave up his US citizenship in 2013. He was indicted for this offence in 2019, because US citizens are required to declare income and pay taxes even if they live and work outside the country. 

He was fined nearly $509 million, and handed a suspended one-year jail sentence for committing fraud. 

Tinkov became a US citizen in 1996, and is the founder of Tinkoff Banks, previously known as Tinkoff Credit Services. He also has businesses in the electronics, pasta and beer sectors.

In 2012, he bought out Bjarne Riis' Saxo Bank team and turned it into Tinkoff-Saxo, which lasted until 2016. During that time, Contador won the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España and Peter Sagan won the green jersey at the Tour de France multiple times.

The United States Department of Justice has fined Oleg Tinkov nearly $509 million, and handed the Russian a suspended one-year jail sentence for committing fraud. 

The former owner of the now disbanded WorldTour cycling team Tinkoff, which included Peter Sagan and Alberto Contador, pleaded guilty on October 1 to felony charges of concealing more than $1 billion in assets to avoid paying tax, after he gave up his US citizenship in 2013. He was indicted for this offence in 2019, because US citizens are required to declare income and pay taxes even if they live and work outside the country. 

Tinkov became a US citizen in 1996, and is the founder of Tinkoff Banks, previously known as Tinkoff Credit Services. He also has businesses in the electronics, pasta and beer sectors.

The 53-year-old billionaire paid bail of £20 million last year to avoid going to jail on remand, after he was arrested in February 2020 in London with the US seeking extradition. However, Tinkov managed to contest on medical grounds, because he is undergoing a UK-based intensive treatment plan for acute myeloid leukaemia and graft versus host disease. 

The United States Department of Justice claims that Tinkov had initially hoped that his fine would amount to less than half of the $500 million he is now required to pay. 

A United States Department of Justice statement read: "As required under his plea agreement, prior to sentencing, Oleg Tinkov, aka Oleg Tinkoff, paid $508,936,184, more than double what he had sought to escape paying to the U.S. Treasury through a scheme to renounce his U.S. citizenship and conceal from the IRS large stock gains that he knew were reportable. This includes $248,525,339 in taxes, statutory interest on that tax and a nearly $100 million fraud penalty. Tinkov was additionally fined $250,000, which is the maximum allowed by statute, and sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release.

"Tinkov was told of his filing and tax obligations by both the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and his U.S.-based accountant. When asked by his accountant if his net worth was more than $2 million for purposes of filling out the expatriation form, Tinkov lied and told him he did not have assets above $2 million. When his accountant later inquired whether his net worth was under $2 million, rather than answer the question, Tinkov filled out the expatriation form himself falsely reporting that his net worth was only $300,000. 

"On Feb. 26, 2014, Tinkov filed a 2013 individual tax return that falsely reported his income as only $205,317. In addition, Tinkov did not report any of the gain from the constructive sale of his property worth more than $1.1 billion, nor did he pay the applicable taxes as required by law. In total, Tinkov caused a tax loss of $248,525,339, which he has paid in full with substantial penalties and interest as part of his plea, together with tax liabilities for other years."

Oleg Tinkov, the former owner of WorldTour team Team Tinkoff-Saxo, has pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return in a 2013 US tax fraud case.

The 53-year-old Russian billionaire has agreed to pay more than £500 million, having hid $1 billion in assets and income after renouncing his US citizenship three days on from Tinkoff Credit Systems going public on the London Stock Exchange.

Tinkov was originally arrested in February 2020 in London while he was fighting extradition to the United States of America, undergoing treatment for leukemia at the same time.

The half a billion sum Tinkov has agreed to pay includes unpaid taxes from 2013, the penalty for civil fraud, as well as interest. Tinkov's estimated fortune is around $8 billion.

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In 2013, Tinkov's wealth tipped over the billion mark after he sold $192 million worth of TCS shares following his bank's initial public offering on the stock exchange. Yet he only declared $206,000 in tax.

He will be sentenced on October 29 in Oakland, California.

“Per the terms of the plea agreement, the parties have agreed to recommend a custodial sentence of time served, followed by one year of supervised release, and an additional fine of $250,000," the Department of Justice said.

“Oleg Tinkov brazenly violated United States tax law. No one who enjoys the immense benefits of United States citizenship, as Tinkov did, may avoid the corresponding obligation to support the country he chose," added acting US Attorney Stephanie Hinds. "Tax evaders should take notice of the long reach of US law enforcement.”

After being arrested in 2020, Tinkov's bail had been set at £20 million, with a strict curfew meaning he had to stay within the M25 motorway and remain in his £7 million Kensington flat from 7pm to 7am every night.

This hasn't stopped him from apparently building his first megayacht, according to Forbes, a 252-foot ship named La Datcha, costing more than £100 million.

British road race champion Adam Blythe believes that Oleg Tinkov will be missed by cycling and that he backs some of the Russian's proposals to develop the sport.

Blythe will race for new Irish Pro-Continental team Aqua Blue for two years from 2017, having joined from Tinkoff who are folding due to the owner pulling his sponsorship from the sport after 11 years. It is estimated that he has invested €50m since 2006.

Sporting somewhat of a marmite profile among cycling's fraternity, Tinkov has been notoriously vocal during his presence and involvement in the sport; in recent years he has called the UCI "bureaucratic idiots" and also threatened to reduce Peter Sagan's wages after his sub-standard early 2015 form.

He has been a known critic of the UCI, calling on Tour de France organisers ASO to control the sport.

He has also damned cycling's current free-to-air television agreements, saying that it ought to be pay-for-view with the money reinvested into teams to create a more sustainable model.

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"What he said was quite right: the TV rights that he believes in, it should be the way he wants it, but sadly it's going to take more than one very rich cycling Russian team owner to make that happen," Blythe, 27, told Cycling Weekly.

"I think Oleg will be missed. He is good for the sport and I think sports needs that - a little bit of personality on the sidelines, someone who can voice their opinion without being worried about the consequences.

"He's going to be missed, for sure. He is great fun and has done a lot for the sport. Having teams for as long as he has has helped a lot of riders along the way."

>>> Oleg Tinkov and Bjarne Riis in war of words over the way Tinkoff team was run

Blythe will be given more opportunities to race for victory at his new team, a chance seldom afforded to him during his stints in the WorldTour with Tinkoff, Orica-GreenEdge, BMC Racing and Omega Pharma-Lotto.

In 2016, he often formed part of Sagan's support team and working with the two-time world champion has been a memorable experience for the Yorkshireman.

"Peter is a different animal," he says. "You don’t have to do anything for him. You ask him if he wants help and he’ll just say 'no, I’m fine, stay near me if you can', but that’s the thing – not many people can! He doesn’t really need help, he’s just Peter.

"What you see on TV is what you get. The thing is with him is that he’s super-relaxed and super-cool about everything.

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"If you talk about a hard stage, he doesn’t say ‘I’m Peter Sagan, it’s going to be easy for me’, he still looks at it on paper and says 'fuck me it's going to be hard’.

"He doesn’t think he’s so much better than anyone or he’s not vocal about how good he is, he’s just down to earth and a great guy."

Oleg Tinkov and the former owner of the Tinkoff team, Bjarne Riis, have been involved in a public spat over the running of the squad and its subsequent demise at the end of the 2016 season.

Dane Riis sold the team to Tinkov in December 2013, originally staying on as general manager before the leaving the squad by 'mutual agreement' in March 2015 after the two allegedly had an argument at the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race.

Tinkov took over running the team, but folded the squad this winter. Tinkoff's star riders Alberto Contador and Peter Sagan have signed with new teams for 2017.

Last week, Riis announced he was taking over the continental men's and women's Virtu teams for 2017. In Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet, he openly criticised Russian businessman Tinkov over the two's break-up last year.

"I enjoyed the respect of the riders and the other employees," Riis said. "Respect is something you have to deserve. It is not something you buy.

"The sad part is that everything I built up over a period of 15 years was broken down in such a short time. Oleg's biggest mistake was to remove the philosophy I'd instilled in the team. I don't think he'd thought through what it meant to change the team that way."

Watch: Secrets of the Toolbox - Tinkoff

Responding to Riis's comments, Tinkov said that if he had his way, Bjarne Riis, and cycling team managers Johan Bruyneel and Jonathan Vaughters would be barred from cycling for life.

"People like Riis, Bruyneel and Vaughters must be banned out of cycling for life," Tinkov told Cyclingnews.

"They not only highly promoted doping, but also materially benefit from it. I see this as a crime, actually. Pity that such people are getting back into my sport."

He continued: "Riis must know that once ownership has changed, the new owner can do whatever with his property. I bought the toy, played with it, and did it in my way, so it is weird to hear these complaints."

Vaughters, the long time manager of team Cannondale/Slipstream, confessed to doping when he raced. His testimony in the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) case helped bring down Lance Armstrong, who lost his Tour titles and is serving a life-time ban.

Armstrong's and former USPS/Discovery Channel manager, Belgian Johan Bruyneel received a life-time ban in the USADA case, as well. He is currently trying to have that ban over-turned.

>>> Oleg Tinkov: ‘I trust Brailsford and Wiggins’

Former Tour de France winner, Dane Bjarne Riis admitted to doping in 2007. He kept running his CSC/Saxo Bank team before selling it to Tinkov. A 2015 Danish Anti-Doping Agency report found that he knew or encouraged his grand tour stars to dope through their careers, but due to the statute of limitations, he can continue in sport.

In Tinkov's short run in cycling, he complained about rival managers and his own cyclists. He said that he paid Sagan too much money and last month, he said that Contador is a "sad person" and that he and "most of the riders" in the team did not like him.

Earlier this year via his Twitter account, he suggested Vaughters was losing his Cannondale sponsor. Last summer, he made a racial comment about US President Barack Obama.

Tinkoff may be bowing out of cycling at the end of the season, but this has not stopped them keeping the poor designers at Sportful busy creating another new kit for their final race.

The Russian team will wear a special white and yellow kit for the Abu Dhabi Tour - quite a departure from their usual fluorescent yellow - in homage to the original Tinkoff kit of the late 2000s.

We've lost count of the number of different strips Tinkoff have revealed in recent seasons, from the camouflage kit of the 2015 preseason to the La Datcha monstrosity of early 2016.

This one is at least moderately tasteful, if a bit outdated, and the white patches will reflect the harsh Abu Dhabi sun.

The race will be the last of the season for most teams, but with the Tinkoff team going out of business the riders will all be going in their separate directions.

Alberto Contador will lead the team for the final time before trotting off to Trek-Segafredo. Juraj Sagan continues to follow brother and World Champion Peter around by joining Bora-Hansgrohe, along with fellow Slovakians Michael Kolar and Erik Baska.

Jesper Hansen moves on to Astana and Jesus Hernandez will continue to act as Contador's righthand man by moving to Trek as well. Young Italian rounds out the team who will be wearing the new kit in Abu Dhabi, and he'll be off to Androni-Giacattoli next year.

Sports director and former professional Sean Yates says that he is likely to be leaving top-level WorldTour cycling behind when team Tinkoff closes at the end of the 2016 season.

Owner Oleg Tinkov has decided to quit the sport and disband his team. Many stars and some staff have already found teams. Peter Sagan will race for Bora-Hansgrohe and Alberto Contador for Trek-Segafredo. Sports directors Ivan Basso and Tristan Hoffman have deals. Yates has nothing yet.

"I'm going to miss WorldTour cycling, of course," Yates told Cycling Weekly.

"I have been in many teams at the top end of the sport. CSC, Discovery Channel, Team Sky, and Tinkoff. I'm pretty fortunate and for sure, I will miss that.

"I don't know what I'm going to do yet but I don't think it's going to be on a WorldTour team. I hope to know more about what I am going to do after the Vuelta."

In the Vuelta a España, Yates and Steven De Jongh are guiding Alberto Contador through the third and final week. They helped plan the early attack with Contador in Sunday’s stage that saw Sky’s Chris Froome lose 2-43 minutes to race leader Nairo Quintana (Movistar).

After the Vuelta, Yates will return to England and sift through some offers. It is late in the year, but something may materialise given the 56-year-old's experience on the road with the top riders and teams.

Watch: Secrets of the toolbox - Tinkoff

Sky relied on Yates through 2012, when in it cleared house with its zero-tolerance policy. Bobby Julich and De Jongh left after admitting to doping during their riding careers. Yates had been linked to Lance Armstrong's dirty days, but quit citing personal reasons.

Bradley Wiggins won the 2012 Tour de France with Yates behind the wheel and testified to his brilliance the following year.

"I really relied on him a lot," Wiggins explained. "He seems to know every climb in Europe. That helps. He's got so much experience from previous years."

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff), on the first rest day in Gijón, admitted that the chances of winning his fourth Vuelta a España are almost over after losing time to Nairo Quintana and Chris Froome in the first week.

Quintana leads the overall by 57 seconds over his Movistar team-mate Alejandro Valverde and 58 over Froome. Contador sits in fifth at 2-54 minutes.

"We are very far off in the classification," said Contador. "The chances for victory are very small."

Contador took the Vuelta title in 2008, 2012 and 2014, adding to a palmarès that includes two Tours de France and two Giros d'Italia wins.

This season, however, he has run out of luck. He crashed twice in the opening two days of the Tour and abandoned after a week. In the Vuelta, he lost ground in the important stages and crashed in a sprint stage on Friday.

On stage 10, Contador and Quintana left Froome behind. He attacked constantly, but 'El Pistolero', as he is known in Spain, perhaps fired too much. When Froome recovered, he caught and passed a drained Contador and left him behind by 44 seconds.

"Maybe now I should analyse the tactics, maybe I should have been more cautious. I was thinking about these three stages, and that sometimes I am too impulsive. When I went, maybe I should have been more careful, but that’s me and it's hard for me to change my style of racing," Contador said.

"I have to take a chance if I can, but the stages ahead of us now are limited in chances to attack. There are not too many tactical options.

"I am going to try and give my maximum. I am conscious that I am three minutes from Nairo, and he is demonstrating that he is very strong, and this makes it even more complicated."

Three-time winner Alberto Contador is fighting to stay in contention for the 2016 Vuelta a España after losing time in the first three days this week to favourites, including Chris Froome (Team Sky).

Contador and his Tinkoff team lost 52 seconds in the opening team time trial to stage winners Sky. The following day, when the Vuelta delivered a 30% final climb from its menu, he paid again. Froome, Esteban Chaves (Orica-BikeExchange) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) rode away with 28 seconds on the Mirador de Ézaro.

"Of course, I can't lose anything more," Contador said when the Vuelta reached Lugo at the end of stage five.

"The differences are great, but there is still much to race in this Vuelta and I'm still in the fight."

Contador added that he was thankful to avoid the crashes, one sent rival Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) home with a broken collarbone.

Darwin Atapuma (BMC) leads the race. Contador now sits 13th overall at 1-20 minutes behind Froome.

Secrets of the toolbox: Tinkoff

Sports director Sean Yates must come up with a plan if 33-year-old 'El Pistolero' is to have a chance to fire away towards a Vuelta fourth title.

"It said not an ideal position to be in," Yates told Cycling Weekly. "He lost more than we'd hoped to lose in the team time trial. We thought maybe 30 seconds but he lost more. It's not that we did anything wrong but we just didn't go fast enough. The guys were at their limit."

While Froome rode to win a third Tour de France title in July, Contador returned home to Madrid’s outskirts after crashes ruled him out. Doctors reported he suffered "multiple contusions, a hamstring injury, and bruises on the left shoulder and the deltoid right thigh." He returned to race the Vuelta a Burgos prior to starting the Vuelta on Saturday.

"Yes, he's fine. He feels fine, he's confident," Yates added of Contador's return. "On the steep finish there he lost contact with the leaders and that was the first hard effort for him. He had only done the Vuelta a Burgos so it was not ideal.

"Time is accumulating now. We have a couple more days before the next hard finishes. At least we want to have status quo until then and then we are going to see about Alberto changing things.

"He has high hopes but it would be a lot nicer to have one minute in hand rather than trying to gain time. We know in the history of grand tours recently, to pull back that amount of time is difficult, but it's not possible. We saw in the Giro and on other occasions that it can happen."

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) – already a three-time winner of the Vuelta a España – suffered to others like Chris Froome when the 2016 race faced the 30% ramps of the Mirador de Ézaro on Monday's stage three on Spain's northwest coast.

Sky's Chris Froome, Movistar's Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana, and Esteban Chaves (Orica-BikeExchange) rode clear. They placed 26 seconds behind French winner Alexandre Geniez (FDJ), but more importantly, 28 seconds ahead of the most dangerous Grand Tour riders.

At the top, only at 260 metres, it took Contador some time to catch his breath. The Mirador de Ézaro's gradients were like a wall of suffering for the Spaniard from Madrid's outskirts.

"In the end, I do not know if the heat, but I couldn't follow the rhythm and I didn't have the legs," Contador said. "On the section of 30%, my heart rate was at 200 beats."

Ruben Fernandez (Movistar) leads Valverde by seven seconds, Froome by 11, Chaves and Quintana by 17. Contador, who lost time in the opening team time trial, sits 12th at 1-31 minutes.

Stage three, amazingly, was only the first of 10 summit finishes. Contador, to his credit, should perform better on the softer ramps that are to come, instead of on the 'walls' like Mirador de Ézaro.

He added, "I will not throw in the towel, we should expect more opportunities."

Sports Director Steven De Jongh, after leaving Sky, guided Contador through the Grand Tours. They last won the 2015 Giro d'Italia together. This year, they focused on the Tour, but crashes in the first two stages forced him to pull the plug early.

"It was crazy steep at the finish, but it was a hard day with the heat as well and a lot of people suffered," said De Jongh.

“Alberto didn’t have the power to follow but he really feels confident for this race and is motivated for the what's to come, so he’s not down after today. We have to continue going step by step."

The Vuelta travels up Spain's northwest coast on stage four for another summit finish, the Alto Mirador Vixía de Herbeira. The road climbs 11.2 kilometres, with an average gradient of 4.8%.

Contador said, "I feel that my form will improve in the coming days.”

British road race champion Adam Blythe is targeting his first win in the national stripes at this Sunday's Cyclassics Hamburg.

The Tinkoff rider has been selected as his team's co-leader alongside Oscar Gatto for the 217km race in and around the German city.

With the Yorkshireman looking for his fifth new team in as many years with Tinkoff folding at the end of this season, he has been given an opportunity to show his sprinting prowess - a rarity during most of his career where he has been used a leadout rider.

>>> ‘Joy, happiness, pure emotion’ – Adam Blythe elated with National Championship win

To claim what would be just his third win in three years he would have to beat a strong field, including André Griepel (Lotto Soudal), Caleb Ewan (Orica-BikeExchange), Arnaud Démare (FDJ) and RideLondon 2016 winner Tom Boonen (Etixx-QuickStep).

Tinkoff DS Patxi Vila has backed Blythe.“We have a good team here, and even though we don’t have a big bunch sprinter, both Adam and Oscar are capable of getting a result here in a bunch finish.

"When we’re in August, things start to depend on who has what left in the legs after a long season, and we will see how the guys are feeling on the day. Oscar showed strong form in Norway last week, and Adam has shown when he’s on a good day he can out sprint the fastest.”

Blythe told CW after his National Championships win: "With Tinkoff stopping, I’ve got to find a new team but he’s [Oleg Tinkov] been great trying to support us with getting a new contract. Hopefully I’ll be back there [in the WorldTour].”

Team Sky are led by Ben Swift but have a host of sprinting options, with Olympic omnium champion Elia Viviani, Danny van Poppel and Andy Fenn riding, too.

Peter Sagan says that he is 'ready for the challenge' of tackling the cross-country mountain bike event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, representing his home nation of Slovakia.

The road race world champion caused widespread surprise when he announced that he would not be taking part in the Olympic road race, but would instead contest the off-road discipline.

Sagan, however, has decided that the hilly road route is not for him, and has elected to return to his roots, and go off-road as his best chance of an Olympic medal. The 2008 junior cross-country world champion took part in a couple of mountain bike events in the spring in order to qualify for the Olympic event.

>>> Who will win the Olympic mountain bike race? (mbr.co.uk)

“I’m proud to be able to race the most important mountain bike race in the calendar at the biggest sports event in the world," said Sagan.

"It’s nice for me to return to my roots, representing my Slovakia. It is always an honour for every athlete to represent their home country in the Olympics."

Having enjoyed one of his most successful seasons on the road, which included three Tour de France stage wins and the green jersey, and victories in the Tour of Flanders and Ghent-Wevelgem, Sagan says he is in good form for Rio.

"It will not be easy but I’m ready for the challenge,"said Sagan, who will face seasoned cross-country riders such as Julien Absalon (France), Nino Schurter (Switzerland) and 2012 Olympic champion Jaroslav Kulhavy (Czech Republic).

On Monday it was confirmed that Sagan will join the German Bora-Hansgrohe team for the 2017 season as his current Tinkoff team will disband at the end of 2016.

It seems Peter Sagan will be riding for Bora-Argon 18 next year, with his current boss Oleg Tinkov spilling the beans in a TV interview.

Transfers aren't usually announced until after August 1, according to the UCI rules on the matter, but it's no secret that many teams have been chasing Sagan's signature and those of his Tinkoff teammates, with the team folding at the end of the year.

It has been rumoured for weeks that Bora are in pole position to sign the current world champion, with new title sponsor Hansgrohe and bike brand Specialized rumoured to be footing the substantial bill.

"I understand he signed with Bora," Tinkov said in an interview with ITV. "I will gladly follow Peter on TV, or over the net, and if I come some time to the race when Peter comes out of the Bora bus, he will not hesitate to take a photo with me."

Peter Sagan's Tour de France bike

And the sum paid for the man who's won three stages so far at the Tour de France isn't insignificant, with Tinkov saying the German team is paying Sagan more than the lucrative deal he's on with Tinkoff.

"According to my information, Bora paid him even more. I mean, that's the market," he said. "I know for definite he got more. I'm not going to disclose the number. But he signed for much more money than I paid him - that's a fact."

Ivan Basso says he believes his former Tinkoff teammate Alberto Contador would have been able to challenge Chris Froome for the Tour de France title this year if it wasn't for his crash on the opening stage.

Contador hit the ground hard on the first stage from Mont Saint-Michel to Utah Beach, and never looked on top form as he lost time in the next few stages and was put in particular difficulty on stage five climbs to Le Lioran.

Coupled with a reported illness, the crash injuries saw the Spaniard finally call it quits after putting in one last attack in the Pyrenees.

But Basso, who now works as a technical coordinator at the Tinkoff team, believes the form the two-time winner showed prior to the Tour would put him in the mix to challenge the dominance of Froome.

“I’m sad to not see Alberto in this game," Basso told Cycling Weekly. "I saw how Alberto prepared for this Tour and I am 100 per cent sure without this bad crash he had he can really be on the game to win this Tour de France.

"We had to ride in a different way in the first week because Alberto didn’t feel OK – he crashed on the first day on the second stage so we had to ride in defence not how we wanted to ride."

Watch: Tour de France preview: The final week

Roman Kreuziger has since lead the Russian team through the Tour, although there was a clash between him Contador after stage five when Kreuziger failed to slow down and help his stricken leader.

Since then the race has been dominated by Froome and his Team Sky squad, with his closest rival Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) 1-47 down in second place and very few attacks from the contenders further down the classification on stage 15's mountainous parcours.

But two-time Giro d'Italia winner Basso believes Tinkoff were never able to gain the kind of control Sky had, with Contador's injuries putting them on the back-foot from day one.

"When you see a strong rival, I’m a sport man so it’s nice when you see good action, a good [team] effort – I want to look at this also from a sport [perspective] not only from a manager of the team. Looking from this side, Sky ride fantastic.

"But also I know we can’t ride like we want because Alberto had a problem. I spent all the six months before the Tour with him and what I saw in this Tour, Alberto had the form to be in the fight to win the Tour de France."

Contador has already confirmed that he won't be appearing in the Olympic Games road race in August because of his injuries, with an eye on returning for a shot at a fourth Vuelta a España title at the end of that month.

The 33-year-old is set to join Trek-Segafredo next year after initially considering retirement.

Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) paid tribute to Chris Froome and Team Sky after they combined in an astonishing final move on the wind-swept roads to Montpellier – but added that he hopes the attack did not cost Froome too much energy ahead of the ascent of Mont Ventoux on Thursday.

Sagan attacked with team-mate Maciej Bodnar at 12 kilometres out in the 162.5-kilometre stage through France's south. Froome joined, Sky team-mate Geraint Thomas followed, and the four rode clear of the stretch-out and stressed peloton behind.

At one point it looked as if Froome would attempt to beat Sagan to the stage victory, but in the end it was the world champion first, the yellow jersey second, and Bodnar in third.

"Froome did everything he could," Sagan said. "Thomas was dropped at 600 metres out. I thought that maybe Froome would not sprint. I led for Bodnar, I wanted him to win, but then Chris started sprinting and I had to go for the win."

Tomorrow sees one of this year's crucial stages, as the riders tackle the infamous Mont Ventoux.

"Froome made a big effort and spent a lot of energy," added Sagan. "I hope tomorrow that he has the energy because it's going to go fast on the climb, for sure.

"I can only say good luck to Froome."

>>> Stage to Mont Ventoux shortened due to high winds

The four-man breakaway gained 12 seconds with 10 kilometres to race and 21 with five kilometres. With the sprinters' teams working, it slipped to 14 at one kilometre out and six seconds at the finish line in a hot and blustery Montpellier.

Froome, with the six-second bonus for second place, ended with another 12 seconds on rivals such as Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Richie Porte (BMC Racing) and Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange). His advantage over the Colombian, his principal rival in this year's general classification, stands at 35 seconds.

"It just happened," Sagan said of the move. "It wasn't like it was planned or [Froome] came up to me and said, 'We are here, amigo.'

"I felt good today. For sure, it was not a boring stage. It was stressful from the start. Sky was all the time at the front, we were always at the front. It was always dangerous.

"This was a nice stage for the Tour de France, no? I've been in the yellow, green and won stages. It was a very good stage for me and I think it was also impressive for people in front of the TV."

Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) took second in the Tour de France's stage to Revel today, a place where he so often finished last year in the Tour de France. This year, he already won a stage and wore the yellow jersey, but says that it "didn't go very well" on Tuesday.

Sagan forced the pace in the stage, split the group and attacked on the final climb, but his work came to nothing in the sprint. Orica-BikeExchange, which out-numbered Sagan three to one, won with Michael Matthews.

"What can I say? It didn't go very well," Sagan said after accepting the green jersey on the podium. "But it could've been worse. So, whatever, that's fine."

Sagan surpassed Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) in the points competition today and took over the green jersey. Behind the podium, with his long hair let down, he appeared grumpy, but playful. He said to the ASO staff, "next time, get me a chair to sit on" for the interviews.

The Slovak world champion made headlines last year with a string of second and third places – but never a win.

This year, it has gone much better. He began the race in the rainbow jersey with a win already in the Tour of Flanders. Soon, one day after Cavendish's stage one victory, he won. Thanks to that, he wore the yellow jersey for three days.

Sagan was understandably grumpy because he had just lost to Matthews. He tried eliminating his rivals first by splitting the 15-man group down to seven and then by attacking on the Saint-Ferréol climb seven kilometres from the finish.

He dropped Matthews's teammate Luke Durbridge, but could not dislodge Daryl Impey, who led out Matthews.

"Was that a nice group? I don't know, there were a lot of riders who weren't working well with us. I'm happy that I've split the group in the last 20km, after that, we worked very well.

"Orica had three riders, so it was more work on them than me. I tried to keep it all together. Also on the climb, I wanted to split the small group. An Orica [Impey] guy was attacking too, I had to mark him. Then in the final, everyone wanted to wait of the sprint.

Watch: Peter Sagan's Specialized S-Works Venge ViAS

"I'm happy how the Tour's going. I already won a stage, wore the yellow jersey. I'm happy with the points I picked up today and took over the green jersey again. Second place again, yeah, but it's hard to control everyone. I have to accept it."

Critics questioned why Sagan did not look to Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) or some of the other men in the move to chase Impey's attacks rather than wearing himself down by doing so himself.

"He reacted twice to Impey. When Impey went, he reacted immediately. That's what you should do," Sports Director Stephen De Jongh said.

"In the end, you want to go for the win, and if you let someone go, you already lose the stage. If someone attacks in the final and you feel good then you close it yourself. I would've done the same.

"He did a great job for the green jersey, taking 50 [45] points today. Going in an attack on a start like this when the other competitors for the jersey are dropped.”

Sagan aims to win the green jersey in Paris. He now leads with 242 over Cavendish, who has 204.

Peter Sagan insists there is still all to play for at the Tour de France, with his Tinkoff team still in contention for three of the four jerseys.

Roman Kreuziger sits only 1-16 down on leader Chris Froome (Team Sky) after nine stages and is the team’s best hope of a top-10 finish after the departure of Alberto Contador on Sunday.

Rafal Majka is also in contention for the polka dot jersey, having gotten into three breakaways in nine days, and Sagan himself is the favourite to win the green jersey.

“You cannot predict how the race will go. Alberto was really bad after his crashes and was also sick in the last few days. He decided to go and recover, and prepare for his next races,” he said.

“For us it’s maybe more of a chance for the team. We still have Roman Kreuziger – he still feels good – and there are more opportunities.”

Peter Sagan's Tour de France bike

Sagan admits that team owner Oleg Tinkov is disappointed that Contador had to withdraw from the race, but says the Russian’s generosity makes it easy to get along with him.

Tinkov will withdraw his funding from the team at the end of the season, with the riders and staff in the process of finding new employment.

“I like Oleg because he’s very generous. He’s happy when things are going well. For now he’s a little bit disappointed about Alberto, but we are still a very strong team.,” he said.

“When we won the stage he was happy like I’ve never seen, and that night we had champagne…it was nice.

“If he’s angry he tells you what he has to tell you. He’s the owner of the team so he can tell you what he thinks.”

Sagan trails in Mark Cavendish in the green jersey competition by seven points heading into the second week of racing. Cavendish admits it will be almost impossible to beat the world champion in the classification because of his ability to pick up points in the mountain stages while the Manxman struggles in the gruppetto.

Sagan has won the points classification for each of the last four years since Cavendish’s only triumph in 2011.

Alberto Contador has abandoned the Tour de France, climbing into the Tinkoff team car with 100km to go on stage nine in the Pyrenees on Sunday.

Contador had been suffering from a fever overnight and started the tough mountain stage with uncertain form, particularly as he was also still nursing injuries from crashes earlier in the race.

>>> Tour de France 2016: Latest news, reports and info

After trying to get into the day's early escape group on first climb over the Port de la Bonaigua, Contador dropped back to the bunch and then repeatedly visited the team car before abandoning.

The Spaniard won the Tour in 2007 and 2009 and had been one of the front runners for this year's race. Contador fell on his right side in day one in a crash with Luke Rowe (Sky) and Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing).

Contador crashed again on day two, that time on his left side. At the start of stage nine, he sat in 20th place overall at 3-12 minutes behind race leader Chris Froome (Sky).

Yesterday, Contador lost 1-41 minutes on Froome. "My body isn't responding as I would have liked," he said. "These crashes are catching up with me.

"It's terrible to have crashed like this twice in the first week and to have lost so much time after working so hard to be here. It's cycling, danger is everywhere. Believe me, I did the best I can."

>>> Alberto Contador defiant despite first day crash at Tour de France

The team confirmed that Roman Kreuziger will lead the team in the classification battle for the rest of the race.

"Contador had a fever this morning and that was when we knew it would be over," Sports Director Sean Yates said. "We will now work for Roman Kreuziger in the overall and Sagan for the green jersey."

Contador will need to re-build now to race with Spain in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He is also due to race the Vuelta a España.

Next year, he will ride with American WorldTour team Trek-Segafredo sources told Cycling Weekly.

Roman Kreuziger's refusal to wait for his leader Alberto Contador in stage five of the Tour de France on Wednesday has been dealt with, say team Tinkoff.

Spaniard Contador lost 33 seconds when the group of favourites, including his helper, rode clear to Le Lioran. He now sits 1-21 behind the other stars. Sports Director Steven De Jongh said that he told his rider four times to wait and told him after the stage to follow the orders when he gives them.

>>> Tour de France 2016: Latest news, reports and info

"The situation is cleared up," Sports Director Sean Yates explained. "There was a miscommunication that was a bit of this and that. It's been talked about and dealt with. I'm confident that that won't happen again if the order is to wait."

Yates also ordered Chris Froome to wait for Bradley Wiggins in the 2012 Tour stage to La Toussuire when he worked for team Sky. Asked if it was a similar situation to four years ago, Yates said that there are no problems.

Contador crashed on his right side in stage one and on his left in stage two. He is struggling to find form as the race enters the high Pyrenean mountains. That pain showed two days ago.

"The team orders were clear, and his decision was something else," Contador said of Kreuziger. "That's the reality. The team tactics weren't the problem, it was that Kreuziger acted on his own. We've talked about it, and we'll turn the page on the misunderstanding. We'll see how far we can get in this Tour."

Team Tinkoff is folding at the end of the year and Contador, winner of the 2007 and 2009 Tour, will leave for team Trek-Segafredo say sources. Other riders, like Kreuziger, must make sure that they have a contract for 2017.

"The unity's fine," added Yates. "We are all humans and sometimes there are disagreements and life goes on. It's not the end of the world and we are all adults, so we just deal with it and get on it with."

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) lost time in the Tour de France first climbing stage to Le Lioran today after he crashed twice in the opening days, but he says he is not giving up in his hope to win a third overall title.

The 2007 and 2009 winner from Madrid, Spain slipped back 33 seconds from the favourites group with Sky's Chris Froome when the race arrived at the Massif Central ski resort for stage five. He is suffering from falling on his right side in stage one and his left in stage two, when he already lost 48 seconds.

>>> Preview: Tour de France in the Pyrenees (video)

"I lost more time, but for me, I am still trying to recover before the Pyrenees this weekend," Contador said mobbed by journalist on the finish line.

"I know it's going to be very difficult. My morale is still good. It's true that it's been a terrible start to the Tour, and after spending months training and preparation for the Tour, I am not going to give up yet. Today would have been different if I had been in my normal condition, so I had to get through it the best I could."

An escape dominated the day and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) won the stage to take the yellow jersey. Sky drove behind and Movistar with Nairo Quintana ramped up the pace on the penultimate climb. Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) followed with an attack and Contador lost pace to a select group.

"I knew that Movistar was going to make the stage hard today. I was putting everything into the pedals. I am satisfied because I lost less time than I honestly expected," Contador added.

"I have to be realistic, and this Tour is going to be difficult than I would have liked. Instead of fighting for the GC, maybe we'll have to look at other possibilities.

Watch: Tour de France stage five highlights

"I am always the most optimistic of anyone, and I will also fight to the end, and keep trying to do something beautiful in this Tour, but my body needs time to recover. I'll never give up."

Contador continued to pedal upwards from the line at 1,235 metres altitude. He reached his bus, where Sports Director Sean Yates waited for his star. The results showed that he stands 1-21 behind the group with Froome in the overall classification.

"Obviously he's still recovering," Yates said. "When you consider how bad he was after his crash, how hard the stage was and how many guys were left, there was definitely a sign of improvement. It was ultimately because Bardet attacked on the summit that he got distanced.

"He lost 48 seconds the other day. Today, he was there, though. It was not optimal by a long shot, the situation is bad, but he will get better. Obviously, having this handicap is a big one. He's in a bad situation, but there is hope at the end of the tunnel."

Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) won his first Tour de France stage in three years and pulled on the race's yellow jersey for the first time in Cherbourg, but says that riding in the world's biggest race is dangerous and only worsening.

Sagan blasted ahead of Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-Quick Step) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) in the slight uphill finish to the port town in Normandy on Sunday afternoon. He pulled off his first of five stage wins in 2012, but explained that the race quickly changed since.

"Now it's very hard to enjoy my time on the bike," Sagan said after the stage.

"When I did my first Tour de France, it was different, now everyone is riding in the group as if they don't care about their life. Last year, it was very bad and this year, it's very bad, but it's the riders’ decision how they want to ride. You never know tomorrow if you can continue the race. It's like that."

He leads the race by eight seconds on Alaphilippe. Asked if he planned to keep the yellow top over the next two days that should suit him, he said that he did not know because "you never know what is going to happen."

Highlights of the Tour de France stage two

Sagan's team-mate and one of the race favourites Alberto Contador lost time on the stage after he crashed for a second day in a row. Sagan did not say if he was specifically talking about Contador's incident, but either way, he said that he couldn’t say anything to the others to change the dangerous situation.

"At this moment, I'm not an important rider in the peloton. It's like no one cares. I don't know what they are doing in the peloton, it's like they lose their brain," he added.

"It's stupid crashes in the group, then it's bad weather and they don't brake. It's not logical in the group. There's not respect. Before, people would throw bottles at him or hit him with a pump, I don't know, if he did something stupid.

"It seems that since 2010 when I became professional, things changed a lot in the group. There are many riders who don't care about the others. Everyone wants to stay behind the trains of the guys. There are many riders in the front, riders who don't know how to go on their bikes! It's like that. It's easy to say: Today, I'm in yellow, Tomorrow, I may go home. I don't know, it's like that."

Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) ended his drought of Tour de France stage wins with victory on stage two of the 2016 edition.

The world champion proved the strongest on the uphill finish into Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, passing Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-Quick Step) at the last.

The stage win and accompanying time bonus also puts Sagan into yellow for the first time in his career.

He is also leader the green jersey points competition, a lead he may not let slip for the rest of the race, having won the competition every year since 2012.

Sagan did not celebrate his victory as he crossed the line, and it looks as though he was unsure he'd won due to miscommunication about the fate of the breakaway.

He is the first world champion to wear the yellow jersey since Thor Hushovd in 2011, and the first to win a stage wearing the rainbow stripes since Mark Cavendish in 2012.

Sagan's Tinkoff team set the pace on the final climb, with Roman Kreuziger pushing hard to stop anyone from coming round.

The sprint then got a bit scrappy, and it looked as if Alaphilippe could have got the better of his rivals, but Sagan came through to take the stage and the overall lead.

For stage two of the 2016 Tour de France, all eyes were on Cavendish who was wearing the leader's yellow jersey for the first time in his career.

It was always an ask for the Manxman to hold the overall lead considering stage two's closing kilometres, and he finished over a minute down to forfeit the yellow jersey.

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) lost time to his GC rivals, the cause of which could be his crashes on both stages of the race so far, finishing 48 seconds down on the stage.

Richie Porte (BMC Racing) also saw his GC chances take an early hit as he endured a very slow rear wheel change from Mavic neutral service whilst his rivals disappeared up the road.

As the script demands, a breakaway went away from the peloton early in the stage and those present pedalled their way towards the finish line safe in the knowledge that they'd be overtaken before the end.

In the break were Cesare Benedetti (Bora-Argon 18), Paul Voss (Bora-Argon 18), Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) and Vegard Breen (Fortuneo Vital Concept) who had almost seven minutes of an advantage at one moment.

An early talking point on the stage was Contador getting caught up in a crash once again. Unlike stage one, he looked unscathed and once on a new bike was able to ride back to a slowed peloton with the help of a teammate.

André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) was the best of the rest after the breakaway took most of the intermediate points, showing his desire to be competitive in a competition that has been dominated by Sagan for the last four years.

Benedetti was the first rider to drop off the back of the escape group and his three former companions forged on without his with a three minute advantage with 20km to go.

Watch: Tour de France 2016 stage two highlights

The impetus finally seemed to come into the main peloton with less that 20km left to race, and the three remaining escapees held a lead of 2-47 with 15km to go.

It looked as though the bunch may have left it too late, particularly as the parcours got more technical in the closing kilometres.

The run-in started to look even more treacherous as the rain started to fall on the fast moving riders.

As the breakaway hit the climb with 9km to go the peloton was gaining on them thanks to huge turns from Team Sky riders Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard, motivated by keeping their leader Chris Froome safe.

With 8.4km between him and the finish, and with the polka dot jersey a realistic prospect, Stuyven attacked his breakaway mates and went alone.

The pace on second to last climb climb saw riders left all over the road before the final run in for stage honours really kicked off.

Stuyven hit the summit of the final climb alone but the peloton had him in their sights as he passed under the flamme rouge. He pushed hard right until they passed him with 500 metres to go, where Sagan was able to claim the glory.

Stage three of the Tour sees the riders take on a relatively flat course that should see the sprinters come back to the fore, with a 223.5km course from Granville to Angers.

Results

Tour de France 2016, stage two: Saint-Lô to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, 183km

1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff

2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx-QuickStep

3. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar

4. Daniel Martin (Irl) Etixx-QuickStep

5. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange

6. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo

7. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal

8. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing

9. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo

10. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky at same time

Other

13. Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-BikeExchange

46. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky at 24 secs

General classification after stage two

1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff in 8-34-42

2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx-QuickStep at 8 secs

3. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar at 10 secs

4. Warren Barguil (Fra) Giant-Alpecin at 14 secs

5. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky at 14 secs

6. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing at 14 secs

7. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar at 14 secs

8. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff at 14 secs

9. Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica-BikeExchange at 14 secs

10. Daniel Martin (Irl) Etixx-QuickStep at 14 secs

Other

21. Adam Yates (GBr) Orica-BikeExchange at 14 secs

46. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky at 38 secs

Spaniard Alberto Contador (Tinkoff), two-time winner of the Tour de France, crashed on the opening stage of the race to Utah Beach, but says the race is not over yet.

Contador, one of the race favourites with Chris Froome (Sky) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar), crashed exiting a roundabout with Sky's Luke Rowe and Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing). He scraped his right side, from leg to shoulder, the same one he fell on and dislocated in the 2015 Giro d'Italia that he won.

>>> Tour de France 2016: Latest news, reports and info

"My shoulder hurts depending on my position but the Tour de France doesn't end here," the rider that Spaniard's call 'El Pistolero' said after the stage.

"I want to be optimistic, I'm thinking of taking a maximum profit of the hours ahead of tomorrow's uphill finish to recover."

The incident happened at 78 kilometres to race in the 188-kilometre first stage through Normandy. Contador's front wheel slipped out from under him and he fell. After he quickly returned to his bike, team-mates Maciej Bodnar and Matteo Tosatto helped him immediately in the chase to re-join the peloton.

>>> Five talking points from Tour de France 2016 stage one

“There was a lot of tension because we were fighting for positions at the front to avoid the wind,” he added.

“We were paying attention but I saw a central reservation too late and the front wheel went to the side. It's bad luck, I'm screwed.”

Contador sought attention from the race doctor, who reported that he did not fracture his shoulder. Contador suffered abrasions to the right shoulder, elbow, hip and knee. In last year's Giro, he dislocated his shoulder after a stage six crash, but continued to win two weeks later. In the 2014 Tour, however, he abandoned after breaking his leg.

“All my right side is injured, from the knee to the shoulder,” he explained. “We know how cycling is: months of preparation and the first day you're on the ground. Fortunately, nothing is broken and I'll try to pass the next few days the best I can to recover before the mountains.”

Cycling's biggest personality was given a microphone at the Tour de France team presentation on Thursday night, with Peter Sagan taking charge of announcing the team to the crowd.

Rather than taking on the duties himself, the presenter gave control to Sagan, with mixed responses from the presumably mostly French-speaking crowd.

"I don't remember all of their names," the world champion joked when asked to talk through the team, before introducing his fellow team leader Alberto Contador.

Then we were treated to a rare moment of Contador speaking in English, taking the mic to introduce Sagan himself but then handed it back.

>>> Tour de France preview, route & start list

"Here we have Maciej Bodnar, the Polish time trial champion right? Nice!" he started before having to double check that Robert Kiserlovski was from Croatia.

The regular presenter must not have liked handing over control to the four-time green jersey winner, as he took back control to introduce Contador once more in his best ring announcer impression.

Contador will be targeting the general classification over the next three weeks, with Sagan looking to win his fifth consecutive sprint classification.

You didn't think Oleg Tinkov would go into his final Tour de France as a team owner quietly, did you? Rather than have his media people send out a press release with a list of names of who will ride the Tour for Tinkoff, the Russian conducted a Facebook live video to announce it.

And even then, the maverick bank owner didn't just settle for a quick run down of the names, instead treating us to a tour of his bank's head office in Moscow, getting involved in a bit of Brexit banter and a bit of Team Sky bashing.

If you want to see what an office looks like in Russia, the first few minutes of the video are great. As is Tinkov's interaction with Brit Oliver Hughes, who is Chairman of the Tinkoff Bank and number one target for British jokes.

"He's still in depression about the Brexit, and the British had another Brexit last night," Tinkoff joked, referencing England's loss to Iceland in that football tournament we've forgotten all about.

"[Tinkoff] are going to kick the arse of Britain's [Chris] Froome or this f*cking Sky, is that what you're talking about?" Tinkov then asks Hughes when he asserts that Tinkoff are going to win the Tour.

"Actually, [Rupert] Murdoch is Australian anyway. You've got such a complicated team...it's owned by an Australian and they carry a British flag..." Tinkov continued.

"There's nothing complicated about the Tinkoff team," Hughes replied before Tinkov continued his walking tour.

>>> Watch Oleg Tinkov's team announcement here

Come the seven minute mark - and it really is worth watching all of it if you have time - Tinkov finally gets down to revealing his riders using an incredibly complicated Microsoft Powerpoint presentation.

It's very Partridge-esque when Tinkov reaches the end of the presentation and a picture of himself pops up, almost to his own surprise.

But he saved the best til last. Asking the producer if there was anything he forgot, he finishes with style.

"Ciao, bye, enough. Boom, boom, boom, we f*ck Sky anyway," he finishes, before hitting the camera with his hand.

Oh yeah, the Tinkoff team was announced. Here's who's in it...

Alberto Contador, Peter Sagan, Rafal Majka, Roman Kreuziger, Oscar Gatto, Matteo Tosatto, Robert Kiserlovski, Maciej Bodnar and Michael Valgren.

Tinkoff sports director Ivan Basso and press officer Jacinto Vidarte stepped in to help cook for Alberto Contador's team at the Critérium du Dauphiné this week in France after the chef quit over a dispute with boss Oleg Tinkov.

The team's kitchen truck was due to arrive for the week-long stage race in southeast France, but could not without the cook. The hotels' kitchens were not ready because race organiser ASO assumed that the Russian WorldTour would prepare its own meals in its kitchen on wheels and told the hotels so.

"I was helping make the pasta this morning for the riders before the stage," said Vidarte, press officer for Dauphiné race leader Contador. "Ivan and I were helping the masseurs. It's normal that the masseurs are cooking or helping make the meals, but this time we stepped in.

"In many races we don't take the truck along, it's only in the big ones like the Giro d'Italia, the Vuelta a España and the Tour de France, and maybe ones like the Dauphiné. For example, Alberto didn't have the truck at the Volta ao Algarve this year."

The truck, sitting in the team's service course, is scheduled to roll again in the Tour de France, starting July 2 in Normandy.

"It was not a surprise for us, the Danish Chef Rune Sørensen decided to leave the team and that's all. We'll probably have a new one, an Italian, soon."

Watch: Secrets of the toolbox - Tinkoff

Vidarte was not referring to Italian Ivan Basso, winner of the 2006 and 2010 Giro d'Italia. Basso became a sports director this year after retiring and this morning, a part-time chef.

Dane Sørensen wrote on his Facebook page that his time with team Tinkoff did not end well, referring to owner Oleg Tinkoff when he refers his former boss.

"I have since Monday been on sick leave from the team," he wrote. "During the last days in Giro, I had problems with the boss not just a little hernia but threats and other inexcusable behaviour. This is why I have chosen to end my contract with the team. It has not been a fun decision, but I have never been in doubt. I'm going to miss the job and the people behind the scenes so much."

Tinkov already announced he is leaving the team. He will sell it if he finds a buyer or close it by the end of 2016. Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reported that last year Tinkov had a similar dispute with the team’s bus driver before he left and was replaced.

Peter Sagan will cross codes at the Olympic Games in August, trading his spot in the road race for a chance to win a medal in mountain biking.

In May it was reported that the Slovakian federation had requested a wildcard place be given to Sagan if some countries did not fill their allocations of places for the mountain biking, but now he has been selected outright for the event.

According to the Slovak Olympic Committee, Sagan offered his place in the road race in exchange for a ride in the MTB, with mountain biker Martin Haring taking his place in the mountainous road race.

>>> Peter Sagan may ride MTB at the Olympics after wildcard place is requested

Sagan decided in January that the Rio road race course was not to his liking, but would have probably been entered into it anyway, given his status as world champion.

"Everyone counted on the fact that Peter Sagan, as world champion, will start on the road," said Peter Privara, president of the Slovak Cycling Association.

"Peter, however, offered a seat to road cycling in exchange for a start in the MTB cross country. After finishing the Tour de France he has special training for four weeks. As we know, he will not only want to attend the Olympics, but to fight for the top positions."

>>> Peter Sagan walks to finish line on return to mountain biking due to crash (video)

Sagan, a junior MTB world champion, will now have significantly more time between the end of the Tour de France on July 24 and the mountain bike events on August 20/21 than he would have done had he entered the road race on August 7.

Haring's experience on the road is not extensive, with his best results coming with a stage win at the Sibiu Tour in 2012 and the king of the mountains title at the 2015 Tour of Cameroon.

Alberto Contador has said that he is in a much better position than last year in the lead-up to the Critérium du Dauphiné this weekend, and the Tour de France in July. He admits that he felt 'destroyed' after winning the Giro d'Italia in May 2015.

Despite feeling good, the 33-year-old Tinkoff team leader and multiple Grand Tour champion said that he is expecting some 'tough days' in the mountainous Dauphiné, where he will face Tour nemesis Chris Froome (Sky).

The Spaniard has been training in the period leading up to the Dauphiné to work on his strength, and is hoping to move into better form during the race.

>>> Critérium du Dauphiné 2016: Latest news, reports and info

"It has been a busy past few weeks, trying to build a good base, always thinking about the Tour de France," said Contador.

"I primarily worked on building my strength and I hope everything goes well. The Dauphiné will be important to build speed in the legs, which is what will still be missing the most, but the most important thing is that there haven't been any setbacks and that's always good news.

"The goal is to fine-tune my body for the Tour de France," Contador continued. "Of course, a lot of work has already been done and that will be seen, but there will be tough days in which I will be able to see where I stand compared to the rivals.

"After the Dauphiné is over, I will know whether I have to give more intensity to my training or if we have to be a little more cautious. I feel much better than last year. At this point I was destroyed, very tired because of the demands of the Giro d'Italia. I feel much better now."

>>> Nine riders to watch at the Dauphiné

The 2016 Dauphiné kicks off on Sunday, June 5, with a mountain time trial prologue in Les Gets. the 4km ascent could create large time gaps between riders before they even hit the first stage.

"It's very, very hard and demanding. Perhaps it is noteworthy that most of the summit finishes are not very hard, but on the other hand they are preceded by other very demanding climbs," said Contador of the Dauphiné route.

As well as 2015 Tour winner Froome, who goes into the Dauphiné as defending champion, Contador will come up against Fabio Aru (Astana), Romain Bardet (Ag2r), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Richie Porte (BMC). Contador has never won the Dauphiné.

The Dauphiné finishes on Sunday, June 12.

World champion Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) won his second stage of the 2016 Amgen Tour of California on Wednesday.

Sagan out-paced Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) and Nathan Haas (Dimension Data) to take his 15th career win in the race. British rider Tao Geohegan Hart (Axeon Hagens Berman) placed fifth.

Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep) safely finished in 10th place to retain his overall lead.

Earlier, Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) made an unusual appearance in the day's escape group. He joined six other riders: Gregory Daniel (Axeon Hagens Berman), Michael Morkov (Katusha), Timo Roosen (LottoNL-Jumbo), Tanner Putt (UnitedHealthcare), Ryan Anderson (Direct Energie) and William Routley (Rally Cycling).

The seven riders worked well together over the longest stage of the race, keeping momentum until the final climb, when all but Gregory Daniel were swallowed up by the chasing peloton with 5km to go.

>>> Tour of California 2016: Latest news, reports and info

As the riders approached the Laguna Seca raceway up a testing climb, Daniel was caught and the peloton started to split apart. Ruben Guerreiro (Axeon Hagens Berman) and Haas both launched unsuccessful solo attacks on the iconic race track.

As the lead group swept through the twisting corkscrew section and round into the final bend, Sagan was in prime position. He opened up his sprint and fended off his rivals to take the win.

Thursday's stage is virtually all one enormous long climb, starting at near sea level in Lodi and then ascending to 2615 metres above sea level at the Carson Pass summit. From then on it's an undulating route to the finish at South Lake Tahoe. Thursday also signals the start of the women's Amgen Tour of California, which navigates an abridged version of the men's route.

>>> Tour of California 2016: Stage by stage

Results

Amgen Tour of California 2016, stage four: Morro Bay to Monterey County, 215km

1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff

2. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing

3. Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data

4. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing

5. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Axeon Hagens Berman

6. Neilson Powless (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman

7. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing

8. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Katusha

9. Rob Brotton (Can) Rally Cycling

10. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx-QuickStep

General classification after stage four

1. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx-QuickStep

2. Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo at 22 secs

3. George Bennett (NZl) LottoNL-Jumbo at 37 secs

4. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing at 40 secs

5. Neilson Powless (USA) Axeon Hagens Berman at 43 secs

6. Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Giant-Alpecin at 49 secs

7. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing at 1-01

8. Samuel Sanchez (Spa) BMC Racing at 1-01

9. Rob Britton (Can) Rally Cycling at 1-12

10. Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Trek-Segafredo at 1-15

Former Tinkoff and Team Sky rider Michael Rogers is the new Chief Executive Officer of the Riis-Seier project, a collaboration between 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis and Saxo Bank co-founder Lars Seier Christensen.

Rogers was forced to retire from professional cycling in April after 16 seasons because of a heart arrhythmia, but will not be out of work long, joining up with his former Tinkoff boss Riis.

“When Michael announced his retirement from professional cycling, I immediately discussed with the board about his potential leadership of the project,” Riis said in a statement

“I know Michael very well from his many years in cycling. He is in every way a dedicated person with an extremely professional approach to things. And Michael has a proven record of leadership in the professional cycling world. Together with his energy and aspirations to learn the business world, we firmly believe he can lead the project into an interesting future."

Secrets of the Toolbox: Tinkoff

Riis and Seier Christensen announced earlier this year that they will be working together on a new cycling project, but details to this point have been sketchy.

According to the press release, the "Riis Seier Project aims to build a financially strong, diverse and sustainable business based on innovative new cycling projects around a World Tour cycling team", although Riis insists he will not be buying the WorldTour licence off his former partner Oleg Tinkov.

With Rogers on board we could see some of his soon to be unemployed former Tinkoff teammates signing up to the project, with riders like Alberto Contador looking for a new team for 2017.

“I’m excited and grateful to be given the opportunity to lead this project. In comparison to my athletic career of the last two decades, a new set of challenges will present themselves in my new role as CEO,” said Rogers.

World champion and last year's Amgen Tour of California overall winner Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) took the opening stage of the 2016 race on Sunday.

Sagan was given a lead-out by British team-mate Adam Blythe to propel himself past his rivals and secure the early race lead and his 14th ToC career stage victory.

Wouter Wippert (Cannondale) placed second in the bunch sprint, with Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) in third. Andy Fenn (Team Sky) was top-placed British rider in 11th.

>>> Tour of California 2016: Latest news, reports and info

British hope Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) suffered from being boxed in during the scrappy finale and finished outside the top 10. Despite Katusha's early work, Alexander Kristoff also did not figure in the sprint.

The day's break consisted of seven riders: British rider Daniel Patten (Team Wiggins), Daniel Eaton (UnitedHealthcare), Jacob Rathe (Jelly Belly), Michael Sheehan (Jelly Belly), Oscar Clark (Holowesko), Joonas Henttala (Novo Nordisk) and Danny Pate (Rally Cycling).

The gap moved out to over five minutes, but work largely from the Katusha team made sure they didn't get too much of an advantage.

The first category climb of Honey Springs Road was a feature at the mid-way point of the stage. Cavendish was among those dropped as the climb was navigated, but caught back up to the bunch on the descent.

As the peloton got within a minute of the break, Patten, Rathe and Clark struck out for one last stretch out front. Irishman Matt Brammeier (Dimension Data) joined Katusha at the front to help out with the chase for team-mate Cavendish.

Patten then got dropped, leaving Patten and Clark. With time running out, Sky and Tinkoff also collaborated with the chase inside 5km to go. The catch was made with 3km to go to set up a bunch sprint.

Sagan leads Wippert by four seconds overall thanks to his winner's time bonus, with Michael Sheehan (Jelly Belly) in third also at four seconds after he collected bonus seconds from the intermediate sprints out in the break.

On Monday, the peloton travels from South Pasadena to Santa Clarita on stage two. Four categorised climbs are included in the day's action, with the first ascent to Angeles Crest Highway starting right from the gun. The eight-day race concludes on Sunday, May 22.

>>> Tour of California 2016 route: Stage by stage

Result

Amgen Tour of California 2016, stage one: San Diego to San Diego, 170.5km

1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff in 4-20-41

2. Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale

3. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo

4. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie

5. Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Novo Nordisk

6. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

7. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Axeon Hagens Berman

8. Tom Boonen (Bel) Etixx-QuickStep

9. Jempy Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing

10. John Murphy (USA) UnitedHealthcare all same time

Other

11. Andy Fenn (GBr) Team Sky

15. Owain Doull (GBr) Team Wiggins

18. Andy Tennant (GBr) Team Wiggins

22. Tao Geoghagen Hart (GBr) Axeon Hagens Berman

29. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data

General classification after stage one

1. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff in 4-20-41

2. Wouter Wippert (Ned) Cannondale at 4 secs

3. Michael Sheehan (USA) Jelly Belly at 4 secs

4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo at 6 secs

5. Daniel Eaton (USA) UnitedHealthcare at 7 secs

6. Joonas Henttala (Fin) Novo Nordisk at 8 secs

7. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Direct Energie at 10 secs

8. Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Novo Nordisk at 10 secs

9. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 10 secs

10. Ruben Guerreiro (Por) Axeon Hagens Berman at 10 secs

If the prospect of a category two climb with dirt and gravel roads wasn't enough for the riders at the Giro d'Italia to deal with, it appears someone has attempted to sabotage the race by throwing nails on the road.

The Giro takes on a 186km route from Foligno to Arezzo for Saturday's eighth stage, but it's the tough ascent of Alpe di Poti that stands out, with it's dirt roads and tough gradients coming just 20km or so from the finish.

Tinkoff rider Daniele Bennati, who isn't riding the Giro after suffering an injury at the Milan-San Remo in March, tweeted photos from the climb showing a significant number of nails strewn across the road; potentially extremely dangerous for the 190 riders set to pass through later in the afternoon.

The Italian rider's images show roadside spectators trying to clear the road of the nails ahead of the race arrival, which will hopefully see the riders pass through without issue.

Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) continues to lead the 2016 Giro d'Italia, and will be looking to hold onto his lead after the trick finale to stage eight, with the prospect of extending his lead in the long Chianti time trial looming on Sunday.

Peter Sagan will return to the Amgen Tour of California for the seventh consecutive season with designs on increasing his tally of 13 stage wins.

The odds on the world champion achieving his goal are favourable, with the Slovakian winning at least one stage in each of the last six seasons, including two in 2015.

His win in the overall classification last season was one of the results of the year - the Tinkoff rider pipping Etixx-Quick Step prodigy Julian Alaphilippe to the final yellow jersey by three seconds courtesy of bonus seconds on the last stage.

>>> How did Peter Sagan win the Tour of California?

This year, Sagan is not so confident of his chances in the classification on a tough route, but hopes for individual stage success.

“The Amgen Tour of California means a lot to me, it's a race I’ve liked competing at over the past years and it has now become a tradition in my program," Sagan said.

"Previously, in California, I've been very successful and I believe that, after a little rest, I will be back again at a good performance level. I would be happy if I am again competing for some strong results here.

"This year will be a very difficult edition, and not quite suited to my style but stage by stage we will see what we can do.”

"Peter Sagan is super strong in 2016"

The tough climb to Santa Barbara on stage three, with Gibraltar Road averaging eight per cent over 12km, means that Sagan does not expect to be in contention for the overall race lead.

Stages one and two are said to suit Sagan's skillset, according to Tinkoff coach Paxti Vila, as will stage seven to Santa Rosa.

Sagan already holds the record for stage wins in the Tour of California - four ahead of Mark Cavendish, who considerably bolstered his tally with four victories in 2015.

The Manxman will also return to the race with his Dimension Data team, having been on a training camp with the British Cycling Olympics squad in California in recent weeks.

The Amgen Tour of California starts in San Diego on May 15, culminating in Sacremento on May 22.

It was less of a shock to hear that Alberto Contador had shelved his retirement plans than it was to hear that Lampre-Merida are trying to sign the Spaniard.

With Oleg Tinkov planning to pull his sponsorship from the sport at the end of the 2016 season, Contador will be a free agent come the end of the year, with the seven-time Grand Tour winner originally planning to hang up his wheels.

But after some strong performances to start his season, including the overall win at the Tour of the Basque Country, Contador turned his back on retirement and the transfer speculation has ramped up.

"We already have some contact with Alberto Contador. Who would not be interested in a rider like this? It will not be easy, but we will try," Lampre-Merida general manager Giuseppe Saronni told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Alberto Contador's Tour de France bike

Saronni is absolutely right - why wouldn't the team be interested in a rider who would instantly raise the credibility of the squad?

Bringing Contador on board would give the team a bona fide general classification contender, which it currently lacks. Rui Costa is taken on the leadership at the Tour de France in recent years, but has failed to get close to the top 10, withdrawing from the past two editions.

But the battle for Contador's signature is guaranteed to be fierce, especially if he puts in a strong performance at the Tour this year.

Trek-Segafredo could be looking for an upgrade in their Grand Tour squads and will have the capital once Fabian Cancellara retires and is off the wage bill. Then there's the possibility of Contador's former manager Bjarne Riis getting back into the sport and offering the Spaniard a contract.

This is just the start of transfer speculation that will run throughout the season.

Three-time world time trial champion Michael Rogers has announced his retirement from professional cycling because of the heart problems that have sidelined him for much of the season.

The 36-year-old, who started his career with Mapei-Quickstep in 2001, was diagnosed with a malformation of the aortic valve at the start of his career.

But now, cardiac examinations identified heart arrhythmia, meaning he must bring an end to his 16-year career, ending his time at Tinkoff.

"Whilst I'm disappointed to miss my 13th Tour de France and a chance to compete at my fifth Olympic Games, I'm not prepared to put my health in jeopardy," Rogers said in a statement.

"The opportunity of being a professional cyclist is that after retirement the challenge of a whole new career beckons."

Tinkoff-Saxo, Secrets of the Toolbox

The Australian, raised in Griffith, NSW - 500km west of Sydney - won a stage of the Tour de France in 2014 and two Giro d'Italia stages in the same year.

He also counts overall wins at the Tour of California, Tour Down Under and the Ruta del Sol to his name.

But Rogers will be best remembered for his three consecutive World Championships time trial titles between 2003-2005 and his bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004.

He was also part of the Team Sky squad who helped Sir Bradley Wiggins to Tour de France victory in 2012.

"I worked on and off the bike with exceptionally smart and talented people, created lasting friendships, smiled and laughed lots, made a bunch of mistakes, cried myself to sleep a few times, travelled the world and learned to speak foreign languages," he wrote.

"Did I mention that I had the time of my life? All of this thanks to one dream – to become a professional cyclist.

"All great dreams eventually come to an end, and today it's time to conclude mine by announcing my retirement from racing."

Specialized are unsurprisingly keen to keep world champion Peter Sagan on their bikes in 2017, but Etixx-Quick Step boss Patrick Lefevere insists it won't be with his team if the Slovak's salary demands are high.

According to HLN.be, founder of Specialized Mike Sinyard phoned Lefevere ahead of Paris-Roubaix to ask how he felt about Sagan's future.

The Tour of Flanders winner's Tinkoff team will fold at the end of the season if a new sponsor is not found, after owner Oleg Tinkov announced his intentions to withdraw from the sport.

"That's the only call I have had until now about Sagan," Lefevere told HLN, telling Sinyard that he didn't want to discuss the matter over the phone.

"Four million [euros] is twenty percent of the budget for my team and that for one rider..."

Sagan has also been linked with a move to Trek-Segafredo next season, who are on the search for a big name rider with Fabian Cancellara retiring at the end of the year.

Cycling needs personalities like Peter Sagan, says Tinkoff teammate Adam Blythe. Sagan won the Tour of Flanders on Sunday in his rainbow jersey, pulled a wheelie and power slid for the photographers after the finish line.

Sagan threw his helmet into the crowd after winning the World Championships in Richmond last year. YouTube videos showed him riding over a car, climbing up stairs and playing golf on his bicycle.

Blythe, who joined Tinkoff this 2016 season, told Cycling Weekly that Sagan is anything but a robot.

"You have people who have big personalities [in cycling] like Brad Wiggins," Blythe said. "He was a huge personality. He's a bit like a robot on the bike, but off the bike, probably one of the nicest blokes. He'll just say how it is and not try to be politically correct.

"Peter is a bit of the same, he's just here having fun, he doesn't care about the politics. He just wants to race."

The last two weeks have been big for Blythe, who helped Sagan to win Ghent-Wevelgem and the Tour of Flanders. This week, the 26-year-old Brit is passing his free time with Sagan at the team's hotel in Kortrijk.

"He was given a PlayStation the other day. Some fan brought him a PS4 and left it for him. He doesn't know who. He is full-gas with it in his room. He also has his petrol remote control car, as well. He's just full-gas having fun. Him and his brother, just playing."

It's not the first major star Blythe has supported, having ridden for Philippe Gilbert in teams Omega Pharma and BMC, before spells at British team NFTO and Orica-GreenEdge.

"He's probably the most down to earth, normal people I met," Blythe said of Sagan. "He's just simple.

"It's the way he rides his bike as well. All he does it for is just because he loves riding his bike, he's passionate about it," Blythe added.

"He comes back from a training ride, chills out and just has fun. It's not like he sits in bed like a robot every day, saying I need to rest. If he wants to go out and play football, he'll go out and play football. He's that kind of guy, he lives for now and lives for the moment. When he has to be serious, he'll be serious."

Watch: How Peter Sagan won the Tour of Flanders

Sagan is racing the Scheldeprijs with Paris-Roubaix in mind. If he wins on Sunday, he would be only the second to win both Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in the rainbow jersey after Rik Van Looy in 1962.

"He's motivated for Roubaix, we're motivated," Blythe added.

"He's obviously the firm favourite. He has super form now. He's going to use it and do the best he can. He's not putting pressure on himself to win, which he never does, he is just going to try to enjoy it.

"Why can't he win Roubaix? There's no reason why he can't win it. He's the fastest guy in a small group. He's proved he's one of the strongest, too.

"Two guys were chasing him in Flanders and he just kept pulling away from him. I definitely think he can win Roubaix."

We've seen a couple of April Fools Day jokes this year, but this announcement by the Tinkoff team wasn't the best.

On one hand it seems like a perfectly plausible story, but now it's turned out to be joke it's in quite poor taste.

The team put a statement on their website and social media on April 1 saying the sale of Tinkoff Sport A/S to an unnamed Chinese businessman had been agreed.

According to the statement, neither party will reveal more until the formal presentation is made in Shanghai on May 2.

"We are extremely happy to be dealing with a major multinational group whose founder is among the best-known Chinese entrepreneurs," said Stefano Feltrin, general manager of Tinkoff, in the statement.

"His strong ties to professional sports are a guarantee the team will continue on the same path its founder, Oleg Tinkov, has followed since 2007

"This agreement will allow Tinkoff to continue its strong performance until 2020 while at the same time will provide access to the growing sports market in Asia."

He added: "Although we cannot yet reveal the identity of the new team owner, we can state that a major Chinese food company will be the team's title sponsor. The new name and identity of the team will be unveiled during the upcoming presentation in Shanghai."

But minutes after we published this original story the team published another statement saying it was just one big joke.

"Given the recent series of sad news that have affected the sport of cycling, we thought that such a humorous news would lighten up the spirits," the statement said.

"We apologize to those without sense of humor who felt bad about the joke. Cheers from everybody at Tinkoff and see you on Sunday on the famous cobblestones of the Tour of Flanders."

We weren't sure whether it was a joke or not, given that it's a completely plausible story and that it's a bit harsh to be making light of the fact that dozens of people are set to become unemployed at the end of the season.

But hey, it's all just a big joke.

By Thomas Dodd

Italian sprinter Daniele Bennati will be out of action for up to a month after fracturing his vertebrae in a crash at Milan-San Remo last weekend, his team have revealed.

The Tinkoff rider was unable to avoid a mass rider pile up five kilometres before the start of the days’s final climb up the Cipressa.

Bennati landed heavily on his back after being floored in the crash with 25km to go of Saturday’s 291km Monument race.

The 35-year-old underwent scanning on Sunday after the race which confirmed a fracture on the L4 vertebra.

The two-time Tour de France stage winner had entered the Gent-Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix races, but is now expected to miss those events while he recovers.

Watch: Secrets of the toolbox - Tinkoff

Team Sky’s Geraint Thomas was also involved in the crash, but came away virtually unscathed and lines up alongside Sky teammate Chris Froome at this week’s Volta a Catalunya as planned.

The results from Saturday’s race continue to make the headlines after two riders claimed eventual winner Arnaud Démare received a tow up the Cipressa from one of his team cars.

Démare, who has released his Strava file from the race to help prove his innocence, beat Sky’s Ben Swift into second in the 107th edition of the race on Saturday.

Alberto Contador has given his approval of the 2016 Volta a Catalunya start list, saying that it is worthy of the Tour de France.

The Tinkoff Grand Tour champion will line up against the likes of reigning Tour de France champion Chris Froome (Sky), Paris-Nice winner Geraint Thomas (Sky), Vuelta a España winner Fabio Aru (Astana), Movistar's Nairo Quintana and last year's Catalunya winner, Richie Porte (BMC).

"The level of the line-up can only be matched, probably, by the Tour de France," Contador said.

"There are so many rivals that there isn't any in particular that can be singled out, because virtually all teams will bring a favourite, who will be flanked by a very strong squad."

>>> Volta a Catalunya 2016 preview

However, Contador goes into the Spanish WorldTour race with a question mark over his health after admitting that he has been suffering with a cold since Paris-Nice, where he placed second overall behind Thomas after a nail-biting mountain battle on the final stage.

"A lot of us that were there [Paris-Nice] got a cold," said Contador. "I was one of them and for that reason, this week I focused myself, above all, on trying to recover in order to be able to take the start at the Volta a Catalunya."

Contador has picked out the race's two stages featuring mountain-top finishes for the overall contenders to make their mark, particularly considering that there is no time trial stage.

"The two summit finishes will mark the race," Contador confirmed. "La Molina isn't really tough and differences there are always slim, although this year there are two mountain passes. As far as Port Ainé is concerned, I'm not familiar with it. I think it's quite an irregular climb but since the previous day we would have already climbed various mountain passes, it will be the stage to mark the race the most.

"However, three more days will remain in which we will have to be very attentive."

Watch: Men's WorldTour contenders 2016

Contador has hinted that 2016 may be his last full season before retirement, although he may continue to race for his development squad into 2017.

Volta a Catalunya is a race that is one of the few missing from Contador's list of victories. Contador stood on the top step of the podium in the 2011 edition, but the victory was one of those stripped after he was banned for failing a test for clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour de France.

The 2016 Volta a Catalunya starts on Monday, March 21 and concludes on Sunday, March 27.

.@petosagan and @gatto_oscar head out to the morning training ride pic.twitter.com/kIUpIjrYUw

— Tinkoff (@tinkoff_team) March 17, 2016

Never one to stick to convention, road race world champion Peter Sagan has found a new way to transport his team-mates to their training rides.

Sagan's Tinkoff squad posted a video clip of the Slovak giving Italian team-mate Oscar Gatto a lift on the handlebars of his mountain bike out of the hotel and on to a training ride.

Former junior mountain bike world champion Sagan is well known for his bike handling skills, and carrying a fully-grown man (albeit a relatively lightweight professional cyclist) on your handlebars is not something everyone should try.

Although Sagan said that he was disappointed to lose out on the Tirreno-Adriatico win by just one second over Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) on Tuesday, he has obviously not lost his sense of humour.

>>> Eight riders to watch at Milan-San Remo

Sagan now turns his attention to Saturday's Milan-San Remo, where he will wear the number one bib in the absence of 2015 winner John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin).

Sagan ranks as one of the favourites for the long 291km race, and he will be hoping to take his first victory in rainbow stripes - and his first win in one of cycling's great monuments.

He may have to lose Gatto from the front of his bike for that one.

World champion Peter Sagan still lacks his first win in the rainbow jersey. It is not as bad as last year, when he went nine months without a victory, but the expectation is growing.

Team Tinkoff's Sagan placed second three times so far this year: once in San Luis, once in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and once in this week's Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy. When Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) won on Saturday, he was close again in seventh, but still seemingly light-years away.

Sagan stepped off the podium in the red points jersey and lent his bike against a barrier for a team helper to attend. In central Italy, where clouds have hovered for most of the week, the signs do not look good.

"Even if I'm not the world champion, it's always hard to win," Sagan said. "Like last year? Yeah, you can see in the last two years, it's always harder and harder. If I can make a comparison, I don't know, but five yeas ago, stages like this would've arrived in a sprint for me."

Watch: Essential guide to Milan-San Remo

Sagan's star status makes flying under the radar in races impossible, now he wears a rainbow target as world champion. Those rainbow stripes stand out, he said, even if in Tirreno-Adriatico this week he wears the red points jersey.

"A win always is good, but I'm not here and getting down on myself. I think that it's not my fault that we weren't able to do the sprint [on Saturday]. It's hard against all the rest."

He leads the points competition in Tirreno-Adriatico and wears the red points jersey. Any victory photograph, he said, would show him not in his rainbow jersey, but the race’s red one.

"I thought about that, too. I thought, if had my first win and in the red jersey, and it's better to win than not too."

Sagan last won in Richmond, Virginia, in the World Championships. Sports Director Lars Michaelsen told Cycling Weekly that if had the winning formula, they would already be using it.

"Patience, patience, patience," Michaelsen added. "Peter would like to win whatever race he starts in, a big one would be nice, but one in a less important would also be nice. A victory in Tirreno would be perfectly nice, as well."

A victory would boost Sagan's confidence with the classics on the horizon. Milan-San Remo starts in one week, on Saturday. The E3 Harelbeke, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix follow. Michaelsen said, "I think every bike rider needs to win every now and then."

Peter Sagan has said that he simply 'didn't have the legs' to keep up with winner Fabian Cancellara and second-placed Zdenek Stybar at the end of Strade Bianche on Saturday.

The road race world champion of Tinkoff rode himself into a very select and highly-talented four-man lead group in the finale of the 176-kilometre race along with Cancellara, Stybar and Gianluca Brambilla.

Through the final two of the nine gravel road sectors that characterise the Italian race, Sagan looked to be very strong, taking his turns at the front and assisting in keeping the chase group at bay.

>>> Fabian Cancellara wins Strade Bianche for a third time

However, on the final, steep climb to the finish line in Siena's Piazza del Campo, the 26-year-old Slovak visibly faded, unable to even catch up with Brambilla who had spent the entire day in the two main escape groups.

Despite that, Sagan said he was content with his form.

“It is the start of the season and we try our best," Sagan said after the race. "I'm satisfied I was able to give all I had. Finishing first, third or fourth is part of the sport of cycling.

"I was in the front group but in the finale I didn’t have the legs to go."

Sagan must be wondering what he has to do to win the race, having placed second in the 2013 and 2014 editions of the Strade-Bianche, and now fourth. Last weekend, Sagan was second in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and seventh in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. He is yet to take a win in 2016, but it is still early in the season – and Sagan evidently hasn't deemed it necessary to shave his legs yet

Tinkoff sports director Patxi Vila gave his view on the day's events: "It was a really hard race today, with 3,200m of climbing it’s nearly a mountain stage, and together with all the unpaved sectors it’s a hard day out. We saw last week Peter was riding well so we rode to bring him into the best position for the final.

>>> Mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan and Fernando Gaviria to go head-to-head at Tirreno-Adriatico

"Peter was looking good and made the big move on the penultimate sector to form the lead group but lacked a little something at the end."

"Obviously we wanted to win and thought we could today, but Cancellara was the strongest at the end. We are on the right line and will keep fighting for the win in the coming races."

Sagan stays in Italy and now turns his attention to Tirreno-Adriatico, which starts on March 9.

Bjarne Riis and his business partner Lars Seier Christensen announced the management company behind what they hope will be a new 2017 WorldTour team, but the press conference in Copenhagen offered little else.

The two Danes would not comment on creating a team with Bahrain prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa or on buying back Riis's former WorldTour team licence from Russian Oleg Tinkov.

They did say, however, that they invested £3.9 million (37m Danish Krone) for the Riis/Seier Holding Company and are looking for sponsors.

"The most import thing is to have this company with a solid foundation that can make money," said 1996 Tour de France winner Riis. "It needs to run regardless if the WorldTour team starts or not in 2017."

The only thing certain in Copenhagen was that it was a cold 5°C. Journalists gladly entered the five-star Hotel d'Angleterre for the 12:30 press conference but were not warmed by concrete ideas.

Riis and former Saxo Bank CEO Seier Christensen explained that they would provide a new type of spinning bike and a test centre for elite cyclists, and create a fully catered training stay at a villa in Lucca, Italy. They also said that they are looking for backers to have a Danish WorldTour team in place by 2017 or the latest, 2018.

Riis has already owned a team, CSC/Saxo Bank, from 2000 through 2013 and produced Tour de France and classics wins before he sold it to Oleg Tinkov. The team now races as Tinkoff and with a Russian licence, and is up for sale.

The Danish duo want to earn money with their training concept based in Lucca so that their management company is not dependent on sponsors.

"A World Tour Team can be created in many ways. We can do it ourselves or go along with some others," Riis added. "When/if we are to be back with a WorldTour team, so it can work with this concept."

Seier Christensen said that he talking with several potential sponsors and needs one or two big ones to make the Danish team a reality. Riis added, "Lars and I have a huge ambition, but it has to match the earnings."

On Sunday, Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa announced that he wanted to begin a team for 2017 that could reportedly have 2014 Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali from team Astana. Nibali travelled to Bahrain and rode with the prince prior to the 2015 Dubai Tour. For now, it appears to not be connected to the Riis/Seier Holding Company.

Peter Sagan may be among the favourites for both Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne this weekend, but doesn't expect to have an easy rid in his first European races of the season.

The world champion will lead Tinkoff in the year's first one-day Classics and will be looking to get his first win of the season under his belt ahead of the cobbled Monuments.

Sagan hasn't raced since January's Tour de San Luis but hopes his training block will put him in good shape for the weekend's efforts.

"I am curious to see how my first two starts in Europe will be," he said. "The race in San Luis was held a month ago, so it has been a long time. I prepared diligently, I spent a lot of time at the training camp in Sierra Nevada and I know I'm doing well. I am interested in seeing how strong my opponents are.

"These races in Belgium are set to kick off the final phases of my preparation for the spring monuments, which, yet again, will be a great challenge to me. Both races are quite long and difficult and they nearly always indicate who will succeed in the spring part of the season. It will be the first test and I expect a sharp confrontation with the best riders."

>>> Peter Sagan: Now I know the Olympics course is not for me (video)

Sagan is hoping to become the first rider to win one of cycling's Monuments while wearing the world champion's jersey since Paolo Bettini won Il Lombardia in 2006.

He came close to winning his first major one-day race in 2015, finishing fourth in both Milan-San Remo and Tour of Flanders but hopes to go a few steps better this season.

The cycling world waits with baited breath as Bjarne Riis and Saxo Bank co-founder Lars Seier Christensen keep us waiting on the announcement of their latest cycling project, but one thing is for sure - they won't be buying back their former team.

Riis was bought out of the Tinkoff team back in 2013, while Saxo Bank pulled their sponsorship at the end of the 2015 season.

With Oleg Tinkov set to walk away from the sport at the end of this season, the stage could be set for the Danish duo to step straight back into the WorldTour, but Christensen said in a blog post that they would not be taking Tinkoff's licence.

He wrote on his Seier Capital blog: "Without spilling all the beans, let me give a bit of direction as to where the project is going, or not going:

"Yes, of course the project has at least something to do with cycling.

"No, we have not bought back the old team even though it is clear that my friend and former partner, Oleg Tinkov, wants to pull out of the sport next season.

"Yes, it is a broader project in order to create a stronger economic foundation than that normally associated with a cycling team.

"Yes, there will be partners involved, but we cannot necessarily disclose who at this time. But the interest has been substantial and we are grateful for that."

Reports have circulated in recent days that Riis and Christensen will join forces with Bahrain royal prince Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, head of the country's Olympic Association to create a cycling team.

http://instagram.com/p/BB6scZIKTuH/?taken-by=nasser13hamad

While we will have to wait until Thursday's press conference to find out Riis's intentions, Christensen revealed a few more details of the challenges they will try to overcome with their new team.

"One of the difficult things about being involved in sports teams is the tendency for all income eventually to feed through to players’ (or riders’, as it may be) salaries," he wrote. "A sponsor wants to see his money go to a strengthened squad, not to beef up the team owner’s bottom line.

"This is a perpetual problem in sports, and it needs to be addressed. I think The Riis * Seier Project addresses this in new and innovative ways, and that is what we will present on Thursday."

Seven-time Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador is set to retire at the end of the 2016 season, but claims he could return to the peloton next year if his own development team wins a WorldTour licence.

The Spaniard presented his foundation's youth and U23 teams in Madrid on Monday and teased that he is working to get RH+ Polartec into the professional ranks, which could lead to El Pistolero riding for them in 2017.

But Contador admitted the project would take some serious financing to get it off the ground, quoting a budget of €15m and saying the team would have to be eligible for the Tour de France for him to ride.

"There are two options in my head: to keep the idea of retirement that I expressed a year ago," Contador said, quoted in El Mundo, "or [ride for] the professional team that we are planning."

Contador indicated that €15m would be the backing required to simply ride the Tour de France next year, but to have a chance of winning it would require more money.

There will be a space opening up in the WorldTour with Contador's current team Tinkoff withdrawing at the end of 2016.

"It is a complicated project, great economic support is needed," he added. "If [it does] not [happen], we will continue with the Foundation.

"We would like to thank the sponsors because I intend to give cycling what cycling has given me to me. The idea is to train people and cyclists. Here come the future figures of Spanish cycling."

Alberto Contador is fired up for his final season in the professional peloton, with a third Tour de France win on his radar for 2016.

The Spaniard is scheduled to race for the first time since last year's Tour at the Volta ao Algarve next week and comes into the season off the back of two good training blocks.

Contador made it clear last season that this would be his final year as a professional, but sounds determined for it to not just be a victory lap, saying he's "very eager and more motivated than ever".

“I went through a good winter period because in Europe we had quite mild weather, something that helped me keep a continuity in my training," said Contador. “I also tried to organize my schedule and the non-sport commitments so that I can train. I was able to complete two very good training blocks with the team, one in December in Gran Canaria and another one in January, in Tenerife."

Contador's last (official) Tour win was back in 2009 - the 2010 yellow jersey was stripped after he tested positive for Clenbuterol.

With Chris Froome winning two of the last three editions of the big race, Contador will have his work cut out once again to win the maillot jaune, but the 33-year-old feels his preparation will leave him in good condition for July.

“[I have carried out] a sound working foundation, thinking in particular that this start will be very important in a season in which the goal is to reach the Tour de France in good shape," he added.

"This is what I think about, at all times. The Volta ao Algarve always brings fond memories and I consider it to be a perfect race to finetune my form and start my first block of competition, where I hope to have a good level in all races."