That very Popovych, who in May last year in Italy was the third most popular Ukrainian. After Andriy Shevchenko, who managed to score a decisive penalty in the post-match series against Juventus in the Champions League final. And after the world star of erotic cinema Yulia Mayarchuk, the favorite of cult director Tinto Brass.
A year ago, in 2003, Popovych finished the Giro in third place overall, confirming that he is not considered one of the rising stars of world cycling for nothing. In 2002 he was 12th in Italy, and today he is again fighting for the lead, being on the list of leaders after the starting stages of the most popular cycling race. They say that the pace at which Yaroslav is progressing very much resembles the advancement to fame of the famous Belgian Eddy Merckx, who forged victories in the late 60s and first half of the 70s. And the fact that Popovych ranks seventh in the world rankings of young cyclists (under 25) once again confirms that the Galician has a great future. After all, in cycling it is not youth that wins, but experience. The most mature cyclists are considered to be those aged 27-29.
Surprising but true: despite the lack of a normal material base, cycling in Ukraine is not only not withering, but is spreading its shoulders. Last year, eight of our guys participated in the Giro, this year already one more. Moreover, new names are on the way: Denis Kostyuk, who is among the top ten riders under 23, and young Maksym Rudenko (both ride for the Belgian team Chocolade Jacques-Wincor). Add to this the more experienced Sergey Gonchar, Vladimir Gustov, Yuri Krivtsov, Vladimir Duma, and Kirill Pospeev - and you get a good picture in men's cycling. And in women's cycling, too, it would be a sin to complain about a lack of talent.
The discrepancy between poor conditions and the presence of a team of talented masters, whose performances secure Ukraine's 12th position in the world ranking, is explained simply: our best cyclists have long been living and training abroad (mainly in Italy, which is the leader in modern cycling), and come home rarely. To visit relatives or take part in national tournaments. Moreover, some teams look disapprovingly at such trips. In 2002, Sergey Gonchar, having come to his native Rivne to participate in the Ukrainian championship, told that he had escaped at his own peril and risk.
"In the tight schedule of races and training, I managed to find four days to take part in the national championship. How did the managers react? They didn't put obstacles, but they didn't provide help either. The team doesn't need my Ukrainian championship; more than that, it is disadvantageous for them. Because if I become the national champion, I must start in subsequent races in a jersey of the colors and with the emblems of my state. And every team reluctantly agrees to change the color of the jersey. So I flew at my own expense.
The race in Rivne was not easy. The air dash from Italy via Frankfurt left practically no time for acclimatization. But I am very glad to win. The brightest impressions were when I was riding along my native street: almost all the neighbors came out to support me. Very pleasant. But there is no time to relax. The start of the Tour de France is imminent. I need to work off the advances of my "leader's contract" with Fassa Bortolo. The management wants to see me in the top five of the final classification. I, in turn, will be quite satisfied if I end up among the top ten..."
Honchar is the most experienced rider of the Ukrainian team. He also stands higher than everyone in the world ranking. But in terms of results in the same Giro, he clearly yields to Popovych. Last year he was eighth overall. And this year too he occupies a position lower than his compatriot from Western Ukraine. Let's dwell on his figure in more detail.
Yaroslav became interested in cycling, which is very popular in Drohobych, at the age of 12. The Honored Coach of Ukraine Ihor Romanyshyn, who founded the children's and youth sports school "Medyk" at the end of the 60s, where Popovych learned the basics, recalls: "There were many willing to practice, and we did not conduct a special selection. Yaroslav came himself. He was small in stature, unprepossessing in appearance. And at first he did not stand out in any way, but over time, thanks to persistence in training, he progressed. For the first time he loudly announced himself in 1995 in Bakhchysarai, in the individual race in the scoring of the Spartakiad of Ukrainian schoolchildren, when he finished sixth. Despite a fall, Slava found the strength to endure the pain and finish the distance. And in 1999, Popovych became the silver medalist of the 1st All-Ukrainian Summer Sports Games in the multi-day race. We traveled to Crimea in a minibus all night and arrived in Feodosia only an hour before the start. Everyone complained of fatigue, but Popovych, on the difficult first stage, managed to finish sixth. Then I finally believed that a strong rider would grow out of him."
Cycling is one of the most labor-intensive sports. Cyclists, along with skiers and rowers, are considered the most real "ploughmen". Yaroslav trained to exhaustion, and as a result, his determination began to pay off. Actually, he started on the track, and moved to the road only in the fall of 94. And he did not regret it. After all, soon after the "silver" of the All-Ukrainian Summer Games of 1999 came the "silver" of the 2000 World Youth Championship. At the next youth world championship, Popovych already won "gold". At that time, Italian specialists, who paid tribute to the Ukrainian's talent, were "leading" him.
The transition took place in a rather interesting way. Popovych became part of the Ukrainian track racing team, which went to a tournament in Italy, and after its completion he signed a contract with the club "Velutex". Together with Ruslan Podgorny, Sergey Matveev, and Ruslan Grishchenko, our hero came under the wing of Olivano Locatelli, who helped Popovych not to stop at what he had achieved. According to available information, it was "Velutex" that financed Yaroslav's participation in two youth world championships. In return, Popovych got a "heavenly life" - exhausting training and a daily routine, in the words of the rider, close to barracks life.
But the school turned out to be useful, and the 'ordeal' did not last too long - only about a year. Belgian magnate Ernesto Colnago (owner of a well-known bicycle equipment company) offered Popovych to become the leader and first number of the new team he was creating. Yaroslav agreed, and coach Locatelli also made the move with him. For three years now their cooperation has been under new conditions. Although the move to Belgium was purely formal: Popovych stayed in Italy, only moved from Milan to the outskirts of Florence - the town of Quarrata, where he rents housing, has a personal 'Volvo' and a company 'Fiat'. And in 'Landbouwkrediet-Colnago' several more Ukrainians appeared - Volodymyr Duma, Serhiy Avdeyev, and Volodymyr Bileka. Not least thanks to Popovych.
They all performed excellently at the 2003 Giro. That caused discontent among the veteran teams of cycling. Literally a few days after the end of the stage race, Italian police arrested two of Yaroslav's coaches - Locatelli and William Dazzani. On suspicion of their athletes using banned substances and... buying stolen goods. Locatelli even spent some time under house arrest, but soon everything was settled.
In 2004 Popovych is the undisputed team leader and one of the favorites of the Italian race. The 'gregario' stage - a worker rider who must follow team strategy unconditionally and thinks about personal results second - is already behind him. Last year at the Giro, the Ukrainian, by his own admission and in the words of Ukrainian coaches, lacked a bit of experience. Otherwise, instead of third place, he could have boasted second, from which he was separated by only five seconds. Nevertheless, progress is obvious. Invitations began to come to our compatriot from more famous teams (Popovych's current club is 22nd in the world ranking), and the moment when Yaroslav will debut in the most serious super-stage race - the Tour de France - is not far off.
It is also important that the talented young man is not threatened by star fever. He always gladly comes to Ukraine and competes in national competitions. He also visits the 'Medyk' children's and youth sports school, to which he always brings expensive gifts: bicycles, cycling suits, and other important equipment items. One of Yaroslav's coaches, Valery Arabadzhi from the Brovary Higher School of Physical Education, through which Popovych passed one of the stages of his education, said not for the sake of a catchphrase: 'Popovych's sincere smile, who is not corrupted by easy fees and knows the value of labor, fits perfectly into the telegenic image of foreign stars. But we know: he is like that not for the party scene, but simply in life...'