“While there is no Olympic Games admission decision, I treat everything with skepticism.” Ekimov – about selection, “flags” and discipline

– Vyacheslav Vladimirovitch, what did you manage to do in 2022 in conditions where many riders remained outside the international calendar?

– What we can save as an asset is our Caucasian race, it was once considered traditional and now hopefully will regain that status after not being held for several years. It turned out that our sport is so interesting in the Caucasus that no one regretted holding a multi-day event. It was the right step and we are very happy to have taken it.

We managed to collect a good representation for several races by today’s standards, we actively participated in the joint calendar with Belarus. In Kazakhstan they also constantly ask when we can get in the car. Seven teams came to Nart Adygea, including from Serbia and Egypt. What they could, they did in terms of timing.

A big help in this regard is money from bookmakers. This allows us to allocate the budget in such a way as to spice up the schedule.

A certain breakthrough was made in BMX, we had several starts at a good level. Besides, it’s nice that Natalia Suvorova became the winner of one of the National Sports Award nominations following Spartakiad’s results.

As for the track, I remember the good results in the tempo disciplines. They improved Russia’s record in the individual race, in the team race they performed according to the record, which I liked that day. There was a world championship, we tried to compare these results and realized that our team in this discipline could compete for the podium, and Lev Gonov would be at least second. Moreover, Dasha Shmeleva also had a record at the end of the year in Russia.

– When it became clear that the international calendar was mostly closed for Russian riders, you said: the main thing is to keep the guys. Has Misha Yakovlev changed his sporting citizenship, are there any other losses?

Misha wanted to catch the departing train and go to the Games in Paris. I don’t know if he can do it. So far, there is no agreement on this issue and our NOC’s position is the same.

– So you don’t agree on this transition?

– Everyone makes their choice, but we believe that they have the right to count on compensation for this transition. This practice exists all over the world. Compensate us a certain amount for this guy, and we will give permission to participate in the Olympic Games. We, as a federation, have made such demands.

– Sasha Vlasov entered the top 5 of the Tour this year and this season he is preparing as captain for the Giro. And in the World Tour it will be official from this season, and no longer as trainee Gleb Syritsa.

– For Sasha, a place in the top 5 is a very good result in the Tour de France. He is a very talented rider and this season he has proven the highest level, we hope even more serious results are to come. We cheer him on.

Gleb rode as a trainee on a pro team this season and realized what it was like, how fast it was, and everything is completely different there. Next year the spring classics are waiting for him – the very Nordic ones, the hardest ones – and it will be a challenge, an examination. He’s a young man, he has a two-year neo-pro contract, and that allows him to adapt to new realities at new responsibilities.

At the end of December, China announced the opening of its borders. In this respect, is there any hope of participation in their races?

– We have already submitted a request, but now in the new realities, we will be updating this story again, as it would be great for us if our team participated in their regional races. They can safely invite the Russian team there, the restrictions that the UCI imposes on us do not apply in this case.

– At the end of the year, former WADA President Richard Pound also said that the story should be tightened up with the ADAMS system on the same flags. You always spoke harshly about it. Do you really need to tighten the screws?

– I am convinced that an athlete, as a professional, should also be responsible for the implementation of this part of his work. We, as a federation, organize seminars, webinars, train for this, RUSADA actively does this. That is, everyone has the opportunity to receive anti-doping education. And filling in information is like brushing your teeth: we’ve explained everything to you, just do it. It’s your job. But even more difficult – to tighten the nuts? This way you can break them. Also, I sincerely believe that there should still be more understandable information here, everything should be spelled out as clearly as possible and explained in time – with this too, as I understand it, there are problems. All responsible parties must qualitatively craft this story.