Vasil Kiryienka

Vasili Vasilyevich Kiryienka (Belarusian: Васіль Васілевіч Кірыенка; Łacinka: Vasil Vasilevič Kiryjenka; born 28 June 1981) is a Belarusian former racing cyclist,^[4] who rode professionally between 2006 and 2020 for the OTC Doors, Rietumu Banka–Riga, Tinkoff Credit Systems, Movistar Team and Team Ineos squads. He currently works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team BelAZ.^[5]

Vasil Kiryienka

Kiryienka at the 2011 Giro d'Italia
Personal information
Full name	Vasili Vasilyevich Kiryienka
Nickname	Robocop[1]
Born	(1981-06-28) 28 June 1981 (age 43) Rechytsa, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union (now Belarus)
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	75 kg (165 lb; 11.8 st)
Team information
Current team	BelAZ
Disciplines	Road Track
Role	Rider (retired) Directeur sportif
Rider type	Time trialist Domestique
Professional teams
2006	OTC Doors
2006	Rietumu Banka–Riga
2007–2008	Tinkoff Credit Systems
2009–2012	Caisse d'Epargne
2013–2020	Team Sky[2][3]
Managerial team
2021–	BelAZ
Major wins
Grand Tours Giro d'Italia 3 individual stages (2008, 2011, 2015) Vuelta a España 1 individual stage (2013) One-day races and Classics World Time Trial Championships (2015) National Time Trial Championships (2002, 2005, 2006, 2015, 2018) European Games Time Trial (2015, 2019)
Medal record Men's road bicycle racing Representing  Belarus World Championships 2015 Richmond Time trial 2016 Doha Time trial 2012 Valkenburg Time trial European Games 2015 Baku Time trial 2019 Minsk Time trial Representing Team Sky World Championships 2013 Tuscany Team time trial Men's track cycling Representing  Belarus World Championships 2008 Manchester Points race 2006 Bordeaux Points race

Career

Early years

Born in Rechytsa, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Kiryienka won his first national time trial championship in 2002. His early career focused mainly on the track, where he won the Points Race at the 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships. Later that season Kiryienka won Stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia, a mountainous affair leading to Presolana, after spending the day on the attack and registering more than 6 hours and a half in the saddle. He attacked his six breakaway companions at the foot of the Monte Para climb and soloed to the finish for the win, by a margin of over four minutes.^[6]

Caisse d'Epargne (2009–2012)

Kiryienka competing in the time trial at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London

Kiryienka moved to the Spanish Caisse d'Epargne squad for the 2009 season.

In 2010 he finished second in the tenth stage of the Tour de France after he was outsprinted at the line in Gap by Sérgio Paulinho (Team RadioShack) after the pair's decisive attack with 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) remaining.^[7]

On 23 May 2011, during the Giro d'Italia, Kiryienka's Movistar Team teammate Xabier Tondo was killed in a freak accident at home while preparing to train with teammates. He was reportedly crushed between his car and a garage door.^[8] Five days later, Kiryienka rode to victory in a solo effort on Stage 20, a mountain top finish at Sestriere, and he dedicated the stage victory to Tondó, pointing skyward as he crossed the finish line.^[9] The team had met to consider withdrawing from the race after Tondó's death, but instead the riders unanimously voted to ride on.^[10] Kiryienka commented that the squad at the Giro hoped to get a further stage win (as Francisco Ventoso's win had come before Tondó's death) to honor him, while other members of the team grieved with Tondó's family.^[11]

In September 2012, Kiryienka finished third in the individual time trial at the road world championships.^[12]

Team Sky (2013–2020)

Kiryienka at the 2014 Tour de France

Kiryienka left Movistar Team at the end of the 2012 season, and joined Team Sky on an initial three-year contract from the 2013 season onwards.^[13]

In May 2015, Kiryienka won the individual time trial of the Giro d'Italia, which was 59.5 kilometres (37.0 miles) long and relatively rolling.^[14] In June 2015, he won the individual time trial at the inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.^[15] On 23 September 2015, Kiryienka won the individual time trial at the CI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, United States.^[16]

Kiryienka had the honor to carry the flag of his native Belarus at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he competed in the men's individual time trial event; he finished in 17th place. In October, he competed in the same event at the World Championships in Doha, where he won the silver medal – giving him at least one medal of each colour for his career.^[17]

In January 2020, Kiryienka retired from the sport due to recurring "cardiac issues".^[4]

Major results

Road

1999

3rd Time trial, National Championships

2000

2nd Time trial, National Championships

2001

2nd Time trial, National Championships

2002

1st Time trial, National Championships

2004

National Championships

2nd Time trial

3rd Road race

6th Overall Tour of Turkey

2005

1st Time trial, National Championships

1st Coppa della Pace

1st Giro del Casentino

1st Coppa Comune Castelfranco di Sopra

1st Coppa Mobilio Ponsacco – Cronometro

1st Stage 3 Giro della Toscana Under-23

2006

1st Time trial, National Championships

2nd Overall Scandinavian Week

1st Stage 3

2nd Scandinavian Open

3rd Riga Grand Prix

4th Tallinn–Tartu GP

4th Szlakiem Walk Majora Hubala

5th Overall Five Rings of Moscow

6th Time trial, UCI World Championships

8th Overall Course de la Solidarité Olympique

1st Stage 6

2007

1st Stage 3 Ster Elektrotoer

1st Stage 5 Vuelta a Burgos

2nd Overall Étoile de Bessèges

2nd Eindhoven Team Time Trial

3rd Time trial, National Championships

7th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico

8th Overall Tour of Austria

8th Tour du Haut Var

9th Time trial, UCI World Championships

9th Grand Prix de Fourmies

2008

1st Stage 19 Giro d'Italia

1st Stage 1 (TTT) Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda

2nd Time trial, National Championships

2nd Overall Ster Elektrotoer

2nd Gran Premio Città di Camaiore

7th Overall Vuelta a Murcia

2011

1st Overall Route du Sud

1st Stage 20 Giro d'Italia

2nd Overall Critérium International

1st Points classification

9th Overall Vuelta a Murcia

10th Overall Tour of the Basque Country

1st Stage 2

2012

3rd Time trial, UCI World Championships

6th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné

2013

1st Stage 18 Vuelta a España

UCI World Championships

3rd Team time trial

4th Time trial

2014

1st Stage 1b (TTT) Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali

3rd Overall Bayern Rundfahrt

4th Time trial, UCI World Championships

Combativity award Stage 11 Vuelta a España

2015

1st Time trial, UCI World Championships

1st Time trial, European Games

1st Time trial, National Championships

1st Chrono des Nations

1st Stage 14 (ITT) Giro d'Italia

2016

1st Chrono des Nations

2nd Time trial, UCI World Championships

2017

UCI World Championships

3rd Team time trial

5th Time trial

6th GP Miguel Induráin

2018

1st Time trial, National Championships

9th Time trial, UCI World Championships

2019

1st Time trial, European Games

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Grand Tour	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Giro d'Italia	35	73	37	25	—	—	—	84	—	102	DNF	—
Tour de France	—	—	60	DNF	77	DNF	86	—	103	112	—	—
Vuelta a España	34	16	—	—	—	73	110	83	—	—	—	DNF

Legend

—	Did not compete
DNF	Did not finish

Track

2003

UCI World Cup Classics, Aguascalientes

1st Individual pursuit

3rd Team pursuit

UEC European Under-23 Championships

3rd Individual pursuit

3rd Team pursuit

2004

3rd Individual pursuit, UCI World Cup Classics, Aguascalientes

2005

1st Points race, UCI World Cup Classics, Manchester

2006

UCI World Cup Classics

1st Scratch, Sydney

2nd Points race, Moscow

3rd Points race, Sydney

3rd Points race, UCI World Championships

2008

1st Points race, UCI World Championships