Oleg Tinkoff was clearly none too happy with the requests for money from Nicolas Roche and agent Andrew McQuaid, seen here on the right with Bjarne Riis from whom he bought the Tinkoff-Saxo team this year.
Owner of the Tinkoff-Saxo team, Oleg Tinkoff appears displeased at the manner in which his negotiations played out with those representing Nicolas Roche.
The Irish rider joined the team last year on a two-year deal, which expires on December 31st.
As the new owner of the team, Tinkoff has said he wants to build the best pro squad in the world and has made a number of big signings in recent months, including Peter Sagan from Cannondale.
And with Roche’s contract up for renewal, the squad wanted to keep the Irish man.
However, Roche had interest from a number of major teams, including Team Sky, and undoubtedly those representing him went into all of their negotiations about the rider’s future with a strong hand.
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Nice work if you can get it; the riders on board Tinkoff’s jet for their luxury arrival in Yorkshire ahead of three weeks of pain at the Tour de France in July. Roche is third from left, among the riders furthest from the camera. Team owner Oleg Tinkoff is standing at the back.
Ultimately, it was Team Sky that won the race to sign Roche, with the negotiations that settled his future conducted by his agent and fellow Irishman Andrew McQuaid.
While the move may be a good one for Roche, Tinkoff took to Twitter to vent his frustration at what he implies were hardball negotiations.
He Tweeted: "Being Russian or/and being businessman isn't equivalent of being stupid. I won't trow away $$$, just some of the agent/rider want it. #Rosche".
Clearly there wasn't much understanding for the fact Roche must make the most of the financial and sporting opportunities left open to him before the end of his career.
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Being Russian or/and being businessman isn't equivalent of being stupid.I won't trow away $$$, just some of the agent/rider want it. #Rosche
— Oleg Tinkov (@olegtinkov) September 30, 2014
Tinkoff is a Russian businessman who has built a huge empire, not to mention vast personal wealth, through his Tinkoff Credit Systems. It is a provider of credit cards but was also involved in mail and internet marketing.
Tinkoff made his money at first from selling electronics and then opening a brewery and selling it for over €160million.
In 2006 he began his own pro team under the Tinkoff brand.
More recently, he sponsored the Saxo-Tinkoff team, announcing last year he was withdrawing his support to begin his own team again.
However, he had a change of mind and bought Saxo-Tinkoff from Bjarne Riis for €6 million late last year. It has continued this season with Riis as manager under a three year contract and with the team rebranded Tinkoff-Saxo.
Tinkoff is very involved in the team's affairs, even travelling with them on Grand Tours and this year riding most of the Giro route each day. He also likes to celebrate the team's successes and is seen here with a giant bottle of Contador after the Spaniards Vuelta win last month.
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