Andrei Tchmil

Andrei Tchmil (born 22 January 1963) is a retired Soviet (until 1991), Moldovan (1992–1994), Ukrainian (1994 –1998) and Belgian (since 1998) professional road bicycle racer. He competed in the men's individual road race at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Cycling career
Tchmil was born in Khabarovsk, Russia. 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 glasnost in the Soviet Union allowed 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 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 rode the Tour de France five times, but only finished twice and never won a stage.

Tchmil was most famous as a classic cobbled race specialist, thriving in races such as Tour of Flanders, Gent–Wevelgem, Omloop "Het Volk", and Paris–Roubaix. His first UCI Road World Cup win was in Paris–Roubaix in 1994. He also won the Paris–Tours in 1997 (earning the Ruban Jaune in so doing) and Milan–San Remo in 1999. His last celebrated victory was in the Tour of Flanders 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 Road 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.

Post-cycling career
After his professional cycling career, Tchmil joined Chocolade Jacques as a consultant, but he left because according to Tchmil the riders would not listen to him. In 2004, he was approached by the UCI to set up a cycling centre, which he did.

In August 2006, Tchmil was appointed Minister of Sport in Moldova. In 2009, he became the team manager of the newly formed Team Katusha. Tchmil left the squad at the end of 2011.

Major results
Source:


 * 1987
 * 1st Stage 3 Vuelta a Colombia


 * 1989
 * 2nd GP Industria & Commercio di Prato
 * 3rd Giro del Veneto
 * 6th Coppa Placci


 * 1990
 * 2nd Grand Prix Pino Cerami


 * 1991
 * 1st MaillotURSS.png Road race, National Road Championships
 * 1st Grand Prix Pino Cerami
 * 1st Overall Paris–Bourges
 * 3rd Coppa Bernocchi
 * 3rd Tour du Nord-Ouest
 * 6th Züri-Metzgete
 * 8th Brabantse Pijl


 * 1992
 * 3rd Overall Tour of Ireland
 * 4th Paris–Tours
 * 6th Overall 4 Jours de Dunkerque
 * 10th Overall KBC Driedaagse van De Panne-Koksijde


 * 1993
 * 2nd Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
 * 2nd Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
 * 2nd Druivenkoers Overijse
 * 3rd Brabantse Pijl
 * 3rd Giro di Campania
 * 4th Overall 4 Jours de Dunkerque
 * 5th GP Ouest–France
 * 6th Road race, World Road Championships
 * 9th Le Samyn


 * 1994
 * 1st Paris–Roubaix
 * 1st E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
 * 1st GP Ouest–France
 * 1st Stage 2 KBC Driedaagse van De Panne-Koksijde
 * 1st Stage 4 Vuelta a Burgos
 * 1st Stage 3b Tour of Britain
 * 3rd Tour of Flanders
 * 3rd Overall 4 Jours de Dunkerque
 * 4th Gent–Wevelgem
 * 4th Brabantse Pijl
 * 4th Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise
 * 4th Rund um den Henninger Turm
 * 5th Omloop Het Volk
 * 6th Paris–Brussels
 * 9th Milan–San Remo


 * 1995
 * 1st Overall Tour du Limousin
 * 1st Stage 1
 * 1st Paris–Camembert
 * 1st Stage 1 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
 * 1st Stage 1 Vuelta a Burgos
 * 2nd Paris–Roubaix
 * 2nd Paris–Tours
 * 2nd Overall Étoile de Bessèges
 * 2nd Bordeaux-Caudéran
 * 3rd Tour of Flanders
 * 3rd Omloop Het Volk
 * 4th Overall KBC Driedaagse van De Panne-Koksijde
 * 5th Brabantse Pijl
 * 6th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
 * 7th Overall Paris–Nice
 * 7th Wincanton Classic
 * 9th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne


 * 1996
 * 1st Veenendaal–Veenendaal
 * 1st Stage 2 KBC Driedaagse van De Panne-Koksijde
 * 2nd Overall Tour of Galicia
 * 1st Stages 1 & 2
 * 3rd GP Ouest–France
 * 3rd Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise
 * 4th Paris–Brussels
 * 5th Brabantse Pijl
 * 5th Paris–Bourges
 * 5th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
 * 6th Paris–Roubaix
 * 6th Tour of Flanders
 * 6th Amstel Gold Race
 * 7th Trofeo Laigueglia
 * 7th Druivenkoers Overijse
 * 8th Overall Paris–Nice
 * 1st Stage 6
 * 8th Tour du Haut Var
 * 8th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
 * 9th Gent–Wevelgem
 * 9th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
 * 9th Dwars door België
 * 9th Overall Tour de Luxembourg
 * 1st Stage 4
 * 10th Milan–San Remo


 * 1997
 * 1st Paris–Tours
 * 1st Dwars door België
 * 1st GP Rik Van Steenbergen
 * 1st Druivenkoers Overijse
 * 2nd Gent–Wevelgem
 * 2nd Grand Prix of Aargau Canton
 * 2nd Paris–Brussels
 * 3rd Scheldeprijs
 * 4th Paris–Roubaix
 * 4th Tour of Flanders
 * 4th Overall 4 Jours de Dunkerque
 * 5th Omloop Het Volk
 * 8th Amstel Gold Race
 * 8th Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
 * 8th Classic Haribo
 * 8th Overall KBC Driedaagse van De Panne-Koksijde
 * 9th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
 * 9th Overall Giro di Puglia


 * 1998
 * Paris–Nice
 * 1st Stages 5 & 6
 * 1st Stage 5 Vuelta a Burgos
 * 1st Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
 * 1st Trofeo Luis Puig
 * 2nd GP Rik Van Steenbergen
 * 3rd Tour of Flanders
 * 3rd Omloop Het Volk
 * 3rd Dwars door België
 * 4th Gent–Wevelgem
 * 5th Milan–San Remo
 * 6th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
 * 8th Amstel Gold Race
 * 8th Paris–Bourges
 * 8th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
 * 9th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen


 * 1999
 * 1st Mens World Cup leaders jersey.png UCI Road World Cup
 * 1st Milan–San Remo
 * 1st Stage 1 Paris–Nice
 * 2nd E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
 * 2nd GP Villafranca de Ordizia
 * 2nd Paris–Bourges
 * 3rd Overall Tour de la Région Wallonne
 * 1st Stage 4
 * 3rd Overall Étoile de Bessèges
 * 3rd Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
 * 3rd Züri-Metzgete
 * 4th Clásica de San Sebastián
 * 4th Omloop Het Volk
 * 6th GP Ouest–France
 * 7th Tour of Flanders
 * 7th Gent–Wevelgem
 * 8th Paris–Roubaix
 * 9th Paris–Tours


 * 2000
 * 1st Tour of Flanders
 * 1st Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
 * 1st Coppa Sabatini
 * 1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Burgos
 * 2nd Clásica de San Sebastián
 * 2nd Paris–Tours
 * 2nd Druivenkoers Overijse
 * 4th Overall KBC Driedaagse van De Panne-Koksijde
 * 5th Paris–Bourges
 * 6th Grand Prix d'Isbergues
 * 8th Omloop Het Volk
 * 8th Overall 4 Jours de Dunkerque
 * 9th Grand Prix of Aargau Canton


 * 2001
 * 1st E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
 * 1st Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli
 * 4th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
 * 8th Paris–Roubaix
 * 9th Tour of Flanders


 * 2002
 * 1st Stage 3 Tour of Belgium
 * 7th Milan–San Remo
 * 7th Omloop Het Volk