“I don’t regret getting into cycling.” Alena Ivanchenko to perform at the Olympics

Alena Ivanchenko I do not come from a sports family – none of my parents were professionally involved in sports and, in principle, they had nothing to do with cycling. In such conditions in Russia, when a 9-year-old girl ends up in a cycling school, the question immediately arises: how did this happen?

Ivanchenko herself admits that at the right time she fell into good hands: in Veliky Novgorod there is an excellent cycling school that has trained more than one top-class rider. For example, Olympic medalist Maria Novolodskaya grew up and trained in Veliky Novgorod.

“They came to the school and advertised many sports, including cycling, and that’s how I started playing. I just decided to come and watch. And it all became interesting to me,” Alena tells . — There were many different types of activities. It’s not like we were cycling there all the time… In the winter we went skiing, played outdoor games, in the spring we were taken to the swimming pool, and in the summer we went to a cycling camp. Then they started taking us to competitions in St. Petersburg. It was cool!

And of course, our coach Alexander Konstantinovich Bolshakov developed in us not only sporting qualities, but also personal ones.

— Did they try to send you to another sport? Classics of the genre – rhythmic gymnastics, figure skating…

— To be honest, I did both before cycling. Gymnastics was a completely unconscious activity. I don’t really remember it. Figure skating came later.

— Compared to Alina Lysenko (junior world champion on track. — Note “”), which of you is the coolest figure skater?

– I think Alina. I stopped at the entrance level. Even though I was able to do a few jumps, it wasn’t perfect.

— Isn’t it frightening now that we can find ourselves in a sport where the result depends on the evaluation?

– No. But now I look at figure skating and I understand that at that time I was a little ignorant of all this beauty. At the same time, I do not regret at all that I ended up in cycling.

— When did you realize that the bike was yours for the long term?

— I started cycling at the age of 9. At 13, I ended up in high school. But I finally understood, probably, only at the age of 18, when I was already training with Alexander Anatolyevich [Кузнецова].

— There is a very serious training program there. How did you cope? And how did your parents let you go?

“They always listened to me and understood that I liked it. Of course, they were worried, but they didn’t interfere. If we talk about load, I didn’t perceive it as some kind of difficult conditions. It was interesting for me! I took it as a game.

— What is your most memorable start in your career, if you don’t race professionally?

— European Youth Olympic Festival in Baku. In the individual start there was silver, in the mass start there was bronze. These were the first significant steps in cycling. There were a few medals on the junior track, then gold at the world road championship.

At the European Olympic Festival I felt a different level of competition, I saw a different riding style, I saw how other teams train, what competitors from other countries look like.

— Did the Olympic dream then appear?

“I didn’t think about anything like that at that time.” It happened later. Although, of course, I always wanted to win bigger medals.

— You go to the Olympics, but other more experienced riders will be among the favorites. Women’s cycling is generally about experience.

– Of course, I understand that. There, everyone will have a different lineup, different emotions and a different atmosphere. So far, I only have gold in the junior road races.

— You’re not going to the trial, are you?

– No, I only go in groups.

– But you are a “separator”.

– Yes, it happened like that. There were many successful starts from a very young age.

— Who did you consult about the Olympic Games?

— Especially with Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Ekimov.

– And he said…

– …That I need this experience in terms of sport. Now I am preparing for the Games through European races, in which the same runners will compete as in the Olympic Games.

More sports news in our telegram channel .