Yaroslav Popovych

Infobox Cyclist
ridername = Yaroslav Popovych


image_caption = Popovych at the 2006 Tour de Georgia
fullname = Yaroslav Popovych
nickname = Popo
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1980|1|4
country = UKR
height = height|m=1.75
weight = convert|64|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
currentteam = Silence-Lotto
discipline = Road
role = Rider
ridertype = All-rounder
amateurteams =
amateuryears =
proyears = 2002–2004
2005–2007
2008–
proteams = Landbouwkrediet-Colnago
Discovery Channel
Silence-Lotto
majorwins = Volta a Catalunya (2005)
Tour de France, 12 stage (2006): Young rider classification (2005)
updated = July 22, 2008

Yaroslav Popovych ( _uk. Попович Ярослав, born January 4, 1980) is a Ukrainian cyclist with the UCI ProTour Silence-Lotto. He was born in Drohobych, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union.

Career

Early Years

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.cite web
title = Yaroslav Popovych bio
publisher = team.discovery.com
date =
url = http://www.discoverychannel.co.uk/team/bios/popovych.shtml
accessdaymonth = 22 December | accessyear=2007] He won the Under-23 Men's road race in the 2001 UCI Road World Championships after finishing second the previous year. He also won the Paris-Roubaix edition for under-23 riders. The Ukrainian turned pro in 2002 by joining the Belgian team Landbouwkrediet-Colnago and delivered some strong showings, most notably in the Giro d'Italia where he finished third in 2003 and fifth in 2004, where he wore the maglia rosa during three stages.

Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team

He joined the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team in 2005 and he was considered as a possible successor to Lance Armstrong as team leader. In this same year, Popovych took one of his best victory by winning the 2005 Volta a Catalunya, which is an important race before the Tour de France. Along with the rest of the Discovery team, he won stage four team time trial in the 2005 Tour and showed his potential by winning the white jersey of the 2005 Tour de France while helping Lance Armstrong win his seventh Tour de France.

In the 2006 Tour de France, Popovych was considered one of the Discovery Channel team's four leaders, along with Jose Azevedo, Paolo Savoldelli and George Hincapie.cite web
title = Interviews - Tour de France 2006 - Johan Bruyneel
publisher = letour.fr
date = 23 June 2006
url = http://www.letour.fr/2006/TDF/LIVE/us/-10600/index.html
accessdaymonth = 22 December | accessyear=2007] After failing to be among the best for the overall classification in the Pyrenees mountain stages, Popovych won stage 12 by repeatedly attacking his fellow break-away compatriots Alessandro Ballan, Óscar Freire and Christophe Le Mével. During 2006 season he also won stages at the Vuelta a Castilla y León and Tour de Georgia, where he finished third.cite web
title = Discovery Channel names Tour roster
publisher = cyclingnews.com
date = 6 June 2006
url = http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2006/jun06/jun17news
accessdaymonth = 22 December | accessyear=2007]

Popovych mainly worked as a domestique during 2007 season, aiding Alberto Contador to win Paris-Nice and Tour de France. Early in the season, he won the fifth stage in the 2007 Paris-Nice after attacking 33 kilometers from the finishing line.cite web
title = Popovych rides glorious day away
publisher = cyclingnews.com
date = 6 March 2007
url = http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/mar07/parisnice07/?id=results/parisnice075
accessdaymonth = 22 December | accessyear=2007] He was considered as the team leader for 2007 Giro d'Italia, but he withdrew in the twelfth stage after suffering two crashes in the race. In the 2007 Tour de France, he finished eighth while working for Discovery Channel team-mates Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer.cite web
title = Predictor-Lotto signs Popovych
publisher = cyclingnews.com
date = 5 September 2007
url = http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/sep07/sep05news
accessdaymonth = 22 December | accessyear=2007]

Silence-Lotto (2008-)

In 2008, Popovych moved to Silence-Lotto squad after Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team announced that it would cease operations at the end of 2007.

Popovych was recruited as a domestique member of the 2008 Silence Lotto Tour De France team primarily to support lead rider Cadel Evans. He was criticised by many cycling commentators for not providing strong support for Cadel, who had to battle alone against the strong CSC team.

Results

;2001: 1st, U23 World Road Race Cycling Championship;2002: 12th, Overall, Giro d'Italia: 1st, Porec Trophy 2: 1st, GP de Genève;2003 – Landbouwkrediet-Colnago: 3rd, Overall, Giro d'Italia;2004 – Landbouwkrediet-Colnago: 5th, Overall, Giro d'Italia:: 3 days in "maglia rosa": 1st, Trofeo Androni Giocattoli;2005 – Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team: 1st, Overall, Volta a Catalunya [cite web |last= Hood |First = Andrew |title = "Popovych delivers big win at Cataluyna" |date = 5/22 | Year = 2005 | url = http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/8081.0.html | accessdate = 2007-09-22] : 3rd, Stage 2, Paris-Nice: 2nd, Stage 7, Dauphiné Libéré: 12th, Overall, Tour de France:: 1st, Best Young Rider Classification ("Maillot blanc");2006 – Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team: 25th, Overall, Tour de France:: 1st, Stage 12: 3rd, Overall, Tour de Georgia:: 1st, Stage 2:: 3rd, Stage 5:: 2nd, Overall, Sprint Classification: 1st, Stage 2 (ITT), Vuelta a Castilla y León;2007 – Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team: 1st, Stage 5, Paris-Nice: 8th, Overall, Tour de France:: Stage 9 Combativity award;2008 – Silence-Lotto: 3rd, Overall, Paris-Nice: 24th, Overall, Tour de France:: 4th, Stage 16, Tour de France

External links

*
* [http://www.letour.fr/2007/TDF/RIDERS/us/coureurs/118.html Profile from Tour de France 2007]

References

Persondata
NAME= Popovych, Yaroslav
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Ярослав, Попович
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Road bicycle racer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1980-01-04
PLACE OF BIRTH=Drohobych, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, now Ukraine
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=