Ilnur Zakarin is a Russian cyclist who has achieved a lot in this sport. On an equal footing he competes with leading athletes of the world, has many awards. Next, we consider his biography, failures, achievements, as well as interesting facts from life.
general information
Ilnur Zakarin was born in Naberezhnye Chelny (September 15, 1989). Until 2012, the road bicycle racer played for the Premier junior club. His further professional activities are connected with the Katyusha team. The athlete spent the 2013 season in the professional continental club RusVelo. In the summer of that year, he became the champion of the Russian Federation, and also won the Grand Prix of Adygea. Key achievements of Ilnur:
- Leadership in the championship of Russia in individual cutting (2013).
- The winner of the first stage at the "Giro Italy" (2015).
- Won the 17th stage of the Tour de France (2016).
The athlete is 1 meter 87 centimeters tall and weighs 68 kilograms.
Career: positive and negative points
Ilnur Zakarin, for whom cycling is a professional activity, notes several important points in his career. The athlete attributes victory to the Giro and Tour de France to his desired achievements. As for failures, this is an unfortunate fall and non-participation in the Olympics (Rio de Janeiro).
Since the cyclist was unable to perform at the Olympic Games, over the past season he realized his potential by seventy percent. This figure is taken from his own words. After the fall, Ilnur Zakarin recovered quite quickly. According to the athlete, the main impetus for this was the desire to prepare well for the Olympics in Rio. The cyclist thanks the coaching staff and friends who were next to him at a difficult moment.
Facts about a failed trip to the Olympics
Ilnur Zakarin is very worried about not participating in the Olympics. For the sake of this dream, he sacrificed a lot:
- trained hard;
- ten days after the fall at the Jiro tournament, the athlete mounted his bike again;
- For almost half a month the cyclist trained, overcoming pain and a post-traumatic condition.
As the athlete himself notes, the news that Ilnur Zakarin is not going to the Olympics hit like a blow to the head. The guy was constantly in touch with the leadership and until the last minute hoped that he would be allowed to play. Two days before the start of the Olympics, Ilnur was informed that he could perform. However, he did not agree. This is justified by the fact that a flight to Brazil takes a lot of time, and practically does not remain for high-quality training.
Despite the fact that many experts were sure that Zakarin would be able to show himself one hundred percent, the participation did not take place.
Future plans
The cyclist already has plans and a calendar for 2017. He knows for sure that he will participate in two prestigious tours: Giro Italy and Vuelto Spain. The athlete notes that he chose to ride a bicycle with higher aerodynamic performance. Ilnur Zakarin hopes to take a leading position in both races.
The cyclist feels great responsibility and motivation, hopes to also speak at the World Championships in Norway. Another athlete's dream is a successful performance at the Tokyo Olympics.
The development of cycling in Russia
The development of domestic cycling, Ilnur Zakarin, whose photo is presented below, is very skeptical. Despite the fact that bike rental is opening up everywhere, it's hard to call it progress. Unfortunately, it is better for talented youth to train in Europe. This is due to poor funding, inappropriate climate and the lack of a sufficient number of suitable tracks.
The athlete finished the previous season earlier and went on a long vacation. This decision was made in favor of laser eye surgery. The fact is that at the Tour de France the cyclist lost coordination on the track after he lost the lens. Now everything is fine, the athlete is ready to fight for the highest awards in championships of any level.
Now for the team "Katyusha" are five riders with Russian citizenship. Together with participants from the RusVelo club, this is an excellent potential for the Russian national team. The athlete regrets the closure of the Tinkov project, in which there was a very strong team of cyclists. He hopes for a speedy return of this club in a new composition.
What does the president of the cycling federation say about Zakarin?
Three-time Olympic champion and president of the cycling federation in the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Yekimov, noted the following:
- It is important that Ilnur was not just a leader on the Giro, but fought for the main place on the honorary podium. If there had not been an unfortunate fall, the rider would have definitely entered the top three contenders. It is noteworthy that, having not yet really recovered from the injury, the athlete took part on the difficult Tour de France tracks.
- Zakarin is a modest guy, but in sports and in competitions he behaves confidently, constantly improving himself. Until some time he did not understand English at all, and now he freely gives interviews to foreign journalists.
- The Rio Olympics had a lot of hope. If not for political intrigues, then a worthy performance by Ilnur would have been guaranteed.
That's how Vyacheslav Ekimov spoke briefly about the cyclist in one of his interviews.
All sporting successes
Below are the achievements of the cyclist:
- 2007 - European Championship among juniors in the individual standings for the time.
- 2012 - the first place in the Grand Prix of Adygea, points classification and on the 2nd and 4th stage of the Alsace tour. Ninth place at Girobo, first position in the fifth stage of ITT.
- 2013 - the leader in the championship of Russia and the third place in the races of the Grand Prix of Adygea.
- 2014 - the first positions in Sochi, Azerbaijan, Adygea.
- 2015 - Leadership on a tour of Romandia.
- 2016 - third place on the Vuelta of Murcia, in Norway, fourth position in Poland, Paris, worthy participation in tours of the Basque country, San Luis, Catalonia, Alarvi.
Finally
Ilnur Zakarin, whose biography is closely related to cycling, is full of strength and is ready to win. Despite all the political difficulties, he is confident that the Russian team will take its rightful places in the World Championships, Europe and the Olympics. It remains only to wish good luck to the talented athlete.