Andrei Tchmil
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Andrei Tchmil |
| Date of birth | January 22, 1963 |
| Country | Belgium |
| Team information | |
| Current team | retired |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1989-1990 1991 1992-1993 1994-2002 |
Alfa Lum SEFB GB-MG Lotto |
| Major wins | |
1x Paris-Roubaix
|
|
Andrei Tchmil (born 22 January 1963 in Khabarovsk, Russia) is a retired professional bicycle road racer. His family moved to Ukraine during the days of the Soviet Union. He started cycling and showed enough talent to be moved to a cycling school in Moldova. The collapse of the Soviet Union prompted him to try a professional career with the Italian Alfa Lum team in 1989.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union he became a Ukrainian citizen, although he eventually moved to his now-adopted country of Belgium early in his professional career. "People are cynical when I talk about Belgium. They think I'm only Belgian on paper. That is not true. Yes, I was a Russian, even a proud one.... Now I am proud to be Belgian. The first thing I did was learn French. Now there are some books in my suitcase to learn Flemish. It's not easy," Tchmil said in an interview with Cycle Sport.
Tchmil was most famous as a classic cobbled race specialist, thriving in races such as Ronde van Vlaanderen, Gent-Wevelgem, Omloop "Het Volk", and Paris-Roubaix. His first UCI World Cup win was in Paris-Roubaix in 1994. He also won the Paris-Tours in 1997 and Milan-Sanremo in 1999. His last celebrated victory was in the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2000 when he overpowered rival Johan Museeuw in the finale. He was easily recognizable in the races, with his signature grimace, old-style helmet, and his powerful riding style. He won the UCI World Cup in 1999.
Tchmil retired in 2002, after having been forced to end his spring classics campaign due to a bad fall during the Three Days of de Panne in which his thigh was crushed. He is now involved with several Belgian cycling teams, most notably with the Chocolade Jacques as the team manager.
In August 2006, Tchmil was appointed Minister of Sport in Moldova. This is especially remarkable since Andrei Tchmil never participated in any Moldovan elections.
