Yaroslav Popovych (; born 4 January 1980) is a Ukrainian former professional

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2016. The winner of the under-23 road race at the

2001 UCI Road World Championships The 2001 UCI Road World Championships took place in Lisbon, Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Eur ...

, Popovych turned professional in 2002 with , where he performed particularly strongly in the

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

, finishing third in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. Upon joining in 2005, his focus switched to the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

, where he won the young riders' classification in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and won stage 12 in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. When Discovery Channel folded at the end of 2007, Popovych moved to in 2008 and on to in 2009. Popovych also raced for in 2010 and 2011. From 2012 until 2016 he rode with the

UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle racing, road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, i ...

team .

Career

Early years

Popovych was born in

Drohobych Drohobych ( ; ; ) is a city in the south of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In 1939–1941 and 1944–1959 it w ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. He was considered one of the most promising cyclists while riding in junior and under-23 races after catching 35 victories in 2000 and 2001. He won the Under-23 Men's road race in the

after finishing second the previous year. He also won the

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...

edition for under-23 riders and palio del recioto. The Ukrainian turned pro in 2002 by joining the Belgian team and delivered some strong showings, most notably in the

where he finished third in

and fifth in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, when he wore the pink jersey during three stages.

Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (2005–07)

He joined the in 2005 and he was considered as a possible successor to

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...

as team leader. In this same year, Popovych took one of his best victories by winning the

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; Tour of Catalonia, ) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of the Basque Country. The race has had ...

, which is an important race before the

. Along with the rest of the Discovery team, he won stage four

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

in the Tour de France and showed his potential by winning the

young rider classification Young rider classification () in a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, is an award for the current leader by overall time for riders below the age of twenty-six years ...

, while helping Armstrong win his seventh Tour de France at the time. In the

2006 Tour de France The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Land ...

, Popovych was considered one of the Discovery Channel team's four leaders, along with José Azevedo,

Paolo Savoldelli Paolo Savoldelli (born 7 May 1973) is a former Italy, Italian road racing cyclist and winner of the 2002 Giro d'Italia, 2002 and 2005 Giro d'Italia. Savoldelli was a climbing specialist, climber but known for his fast downhill riding. He is nick ...

and

George Hincapie George Anthony Hincapie (born June 29, 1973) is an American former racing cycle sport, cyclist, who competed professionally between 1994 and 2012. Hincapie was a key domestique of Lance Armstrong. Hincapie was also a domestique for Alberto Contad ...

. After failing to be among the best for the overall classification in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

mountain stages, Popovych won stage 12 by repeatedly attacking his fellow break-away compatriots

Alessandro Ballan Alessandro Ballan (born 6 November 1979) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer who most recently rode for UCI World Tour team . He is best known for winning the 2008 UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, World Road Rac ...

Óscar Freire Óscar Freire Gómez (born 15 February 1976) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He was one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbe ...

and

Christophe Le Mével Christophe Le Mével (born 11 September 1980 in Lannion) is a French former road racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2002 and 2014 for the , , and teams. Le Mével left at the end of the 2012 season, and joined on a two-year c ...

. During 2006 season he also won stages at the

Vuelta a Castilla y León The Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León is a professional road bicycle stage race held in Castile and León, Spain. Since 2005, it has been a part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions ...

and

Tour de Georgia The Tour de Georgia was a U.S. professional road cycling stage race across the state of Georgia. The race began in 2003 and was contested six times until 2008. It was one of the three events in North America ranked as Hors Classe ( 2.HC) stage ra ...

, where he finished third. Popovych mainly worked as a ''

domestique In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their cycling team, team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, ''domestique'' translates as "servant".However, in French, the term used is ''équip ...

'' during 2007 season, aiding

Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice (2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the Vuelta ...

to win

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

and the

. Early in the season, he won the fifth stage in Paris–Nice after attacking from the finishing line. He was considered as the team leader for the

, but he withdrew in the twelfth stage after suffering two crashes in the race. In the Tour de France, he finished eighth while working for Discovery Channel team-mates Contador and

Levi Leipheimer Levi Leipheimer (born October 24, 1973) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He was twice US national champion, winning the time trial title in 1999 and the road race in 2007, and is an Olympic medalist. ...

Silence–Lotto (2008)

In 2008, Popovych moved to squad after announced that it would cease operations at the end of 2007. Popovych was recruited as a domestique member of the

team primarily to support lead rider

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along with ...

, but had a rather disappointing year, with only a 3rd place in

to show for. At the end of the year, it was announced he would team up with his former Discovery manager

Johan Bruyneel Johan Bruyneel (born 23 August 1964) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer and a former directeur sportif for UCI ProTour team , and (later known as Discovery Channel), a US-based UCI ProTour cycling team. On 25 October 2018, the ...

again in 2009, joining the new team.

Astana (2009)

In 2009, Popovych and Armstrong joined the Kazakh-based cycling squad , where many other former Discovery Channel riders and staff were also under contract. Popovych acted as a domestique for Contador in

, finishing 23rd himself. On 15 October 2009 it was reported that Popovych would move to for the 2010 season.

Team RadioShack (2010)

In 2010 Popovych followed many former Astana riders to the newly created American based squad .

Doping allegations

In January 2011 Popovych was incriminated in the

Floyd Landis Floyd Landis (born October 14, 1975) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. At the 2006 Tour de France, he would have been the third non-European winner in the event's history, but was disqualified after testing positive for p ...

doping allegations against the cycling team, after ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' magazine reported that in November 2010 his property in Tuscany had been searched by Federal Officials who discovered drug testing documents, medical supplies and performance-enhancing drugs as well as evidence of links to controversial Italian physician Michele Ferrari. Later that day Popovych denied the allegations.

Major results

;2000 : 1st Overall Tour de Nouvelle-Calédonie : 1st

Gran Premio di Poggiana The Gran Premio Sportivi di Poggiana is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Poggiana, Italy. It has been part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introd ...

: 2nd Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships : 2nd Giro del Belvedere : 2nd Coppa Città di Asti : 3rd Piccolo Giro di Lombardia : 10th

Trofeo Alcide Degasperi The Trofeo Alcide De Gasperi is a one-day cycling race held annually in Italy. It was part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste I ...

;2001 : 1st Jersey rainbow

Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships : 1st Trofeo Banca Popolare di Vicenza : 1st Giro del Belvedere : 1st

Gran Premio Palio del Recioto The Gran Premio Palio del Recioto is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Unio ...

: 1st

Paris–Roubaix Espoirs Paris–Roubaix Espoirs is a one-day road cycling race held annually in France. In 2005 the race was integrated into the UCI Europe Tour as a category 1.2U race. Held since 1967, it is the under-23 version of the Monument classic Paris–Roubaix ...

: 2nd Overall

Grand Prix Guillaume Tell The Grand Prix Guillaume Tell (; "William Tell Grand Prize") was a professional cycling race held annually in Switzerland. It was part of UCI Europe Tour in category 2.2U. In 2007, the race was part of the UCI Under 23 Nations' Cup The UCI Unde ...

: 2nd

Gran Premio della Liberazione Gran Premio della Liberazione is an Italian road bicycle race that has been held annually on 25 April since 1946. It marks the anniversary of the 1945 fall of Benito Mussolini's Italian Social Republic. It is a Single-day race that is rated 1.2 ...

: 2nd

: 4th GP Open Campania : 9th GP Città di Napoli ;2002 : 1st

Poreč Trophy Poreč Trophy (through history held under names Trofej Plava Laguna, G. P. Istria, Trophy Riviera and G.P. Umag) is a road bicycle race held annually near the town of Poreč, in the Istrian peninsula. It is organized as a 1.2 event on the UCI E ...

II : 1st GP de Genève : 3rd

III : 4th Overall

Brixia Tour The Brixia Tour was an Italian cycle road race held annually in the province of Brescia, Lombardy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing ...

: 4th Gran Premio Fred Mengoni : 5th

I : 6th Overall

Tour de Wallonie The Tour de Wallonie is a stage race cycling race on the UCI Europe Tour. It runs in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium in the end of July. Between 1974 and 1995 it was reserved to amateurs. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a ...

: 9th Overall

Tour de l'Avenir Tour de l'Avenir () is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independents. Felice Gimondi, Joo ...

: 10th

Tre Valli Varesine The Tre Valli Varesine is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Varese, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2021 it joined the UCI ProSeries calendar after being cancelled in 2020. A ...

;2003 : 3rd Overall

: 3rd Overall

: 5th Overall

Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali The Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali (), also known as Coppi e Bartali, is an Italian cycle road race. It is run typically in late March over five days in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. History Between 1999 and 2000 it was cal ...

: 6th

Coppa Ugo Agostoni The Coppa Ugo Agostoni is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Lissone, Italy. The race is held in memory of Italian cyclist Ugo Agostoni, winner of prestigious classic Milan–San Remo, killed during World War II. It is also called ''G ...

: 7th Overall

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

: 7th Giro della Provincia di Lucca : 9th Overall Giro della Liguria : 10th

Giro dell'Emilia The Giro dell'Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. First run in 1909, the race is considered a classic cycle race, and is traditionally grouped with the Giro del Piemonte and Giro di Lombard ...

;2004 : 1st Trofeo Androni Giocattoli : 5th Overall

::Held

Maglia Rosa for Stages 13–16 : 8th Overall

Regio-Tour The Regio-Tour is a multi-stage road bicycle race held between France, Switzerland and Germany. It was first held in 1985 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Famous riders like Laurent Brochard, Jan Ullrich, ...

: 9th Overall

Tour of Austria The Tour of Austria () is a stage race, stage cycling race held in Austria. From 1949 to 1995 it was a race for amateur cyclists, turning into a professional event in 1996. In 2005 and 2006 it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour ...

: 10th

Firenze–Pistoia The Firenze–Pistoia was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Tuscany, Italy. It was an individual time trial between Prato and Quarrata, in the Province of Pistoia. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe ...

;2005 : 1st MaillotVolta

Overall

: 4th LuK Challenge Chrono (with

) :

::1st

Young rider classification Young rider classification () in a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, is an award for the current leader by overall time for riders below the age of twenty-six years ...

::1st Stage 4 (TTT) ;2006 : 1st Stage 12

: 1st Stage 2 (ITT)

: 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 2 : 4th GP Ouest–France ;2007 : 1st Stage 5

: 8th Overall

::Stage 9

Combativity award The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, ...

;2008 : 3rd Overall

;2009 : 1st Stage 4 (TTT)

;2013 : 9th

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Popovych, Yaroslav 1980 births Living people Ukrainian male cyclists Ukrainian Tour de France stage winners Olympic cyclists for Ukraine Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Drohobych 21st-century Ukrainian sportsmen