Ilnur Azatovich Zakarin (russian: Ильнур Азатович Закарин; born 15 September 1989) is a Russian

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling s ...

, who rides for

UCI ProTeam UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

Career

Early career and doping ban

In 2007, as a 17-year-old, he won the juniors time trial at the

European Road Championships The European Road Cycling Championships are the set of European championship events for the various disciplines and distances in road cycling and have been regulated by the European Cycling Union since 1995. The championships are for under-23, ...

. In July 2009, the Russian cycling federation announced that Zakarin had been banned for two years after he had tested positive for the anabolic steroid

metandienone Metandienone, also known as methandienone or methandrostenolone and sold under the brand name Dianabol (D-Bol) among others, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication which is still quite often used because of its affordability and eff ...

. He came back from his ban in 2011 and in 2012 he got a contract with continental team . In the fall of 2012 he rode as a stagiaire with , but he was not picked up by the team and instead he got a contract with professional continental team , whom he rode for in 2013 and 2014.

Team Katusha (2015–19)

In September 2014 announced that they had signed Zakarin on an initial two-year deal from 2015.

2015 season

In April, he finished ninth overall at the

Tour of the Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'', es, Vuelta al País Vasco, links=no, eu, Euskal Herriko Itzulia) is an annual road cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April. It is one of the races ...

. At the beginning of May, Zakarin took a prestigious victory; the general classification of the

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

. He realized this feat thanks to a good performance in the mountains, finishing second in stage 4, and a very good time trial ride on the fifth and final stage, where he finished second even though he had to change his bike midway through the course due to some mechanical issues. Zakarin made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d'Italia, where he won Stage 11 after attacking from a breakaway in heavy rain at the

Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, better known as Imola, is a motor racing circuit in the town of Imola, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, east of Bologna. It is one of the few major international circuits to run in an a ...

racing circuit in

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical ...

2016 season

In 2016, Zakarin won Stage 6 of Paris–Nice atop La Madone d'Utelle, ahead of

Geraint Thomas Geraint Howell Thomas, (; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a tra ...

() and

Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice ( 2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the V ...

(). He finished the race in fourth overall. Zakarin led Katusha at the Giro d'Italia. On Stage 19, whilst placed fifth overall, he crashed heavily on the descent of the Colle dell'Agnello, suffering fractures to his left collarbone and shoulder, ending his race. Zakarin recovered from his injuries and was named in the start list for the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

. Zakarin won Stage 17 of the race after bridging up to

Rafał Majka Rafał Majka (Polish pronunciation: ; born 12 September 1989) is a Polish professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is known as a strong climber, and rose to prominence at the 2013 Giro d'Italia, where he finis ...

() and

Jarlinson Pantano Jarlinson Pantano Gómez (born 19 November 1988) is a Colombian racing cyclist, who rides for Colombian amateur team . Pantano previously rode professionally between 2012 and 2019 for the , and teams, before he was suspended for four years aft ...

() at the base of the day's final climb to Finhaut– Emosson, and attacking with six kilometres remaining to solo to stage victory.

2017 season

Giro d'Italia 2017, zakharin (35153572065)

He started the season at the

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; en, Tour of the Valencian Community or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is ofte ...

stage race, and continued by riding the

Abu Dhabi Tour The Abu Dhabi Tour was a men's cycling stage race that took place in the United Arab Emirates, held annually between 2015 and 2018. In 2019 The Abu Dhabi Tour merged with the Dubai Tour to become the UAE Tour. History When inaugurated, it was p ...

in which he finished 2nd. He finished 5th at the Giro d'Italia after finishing 2nd on three individual stages. On 10 July 2017, Zakarin renewed his contract with for two years. Zakarin finished in third place at the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

; the last time a Russian stood on the podium was in 2007, when

Denis Menchov Denis Nikolayevich Menchov (russian: Денис Николаевич Меньшов; born 25 January 1978) is a former professional Russian road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 2000 and 2013. He was best known as a general clas ...

won that race. Zakarin became Russian champion in the individual time trial during the season, and finished his season by representing Russia at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. He won the 2017 award for "Athlete of the year" in

Tatarstan The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...

, and received the prize at the ceremony of athletes of the year of Tatarstan on 18 December at the Volga Region State Academy of Physical Culture, Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Tatarstan.

2018 season

2018 Tour de France -20 Pinodieta (43721110731)

He began the 2018 season at the

. He did not have any top 10 performances until the

Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycling road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during the first half of June. It is par ...

where he finished 10th. He rode the

where he suffered a crash in the first week and survived the cobblestones of stage 9 where many

general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...

riders had a bad day; he was outside the top 10 going into the final week. The last two high mountain stages to Saint-Lary-Soulan and

Laruns Laruns (; oc, Laruntz) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It is situated at the confluence of two mountain streams, the Gave d'Ossau and its tributary, the Valentin. Formerly part of the provi ...

were the highlight for Zakarin where he finished in 10th place on both, then placed 7th on the final

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also track ...

; he finished the race in ninth overall. Later in the year at the

he finished 20th.

CCC Team

In August 2019, it was announced that Zakarin was to join the on a two-year contract.

Gazprom–RusVelo

After one season with , Zakarin signed a two-year contract with in October 2020.

Personal life

Zakarin is a native of

Naberezhnye Chelny Naberezhnye Chelny ( rus, На́бережные Челны́, p=ˈnabʲɪrʲɪʐnɨjə tɕɪlˈnɨ; tt-Cyrl, Яр Чаллы, ''Yar Çallı'', IPA: �jar ɕɑlːɤ̆ is the second largest city in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. A major indus ...

in the

region of Russia, and lives in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. He is married to Viktoria, a nutritionist. The couple's first child, a daughter, Kristina, was born in 2016. His brother

Aydar Zakarin Aydar Azatovich Zakarin (russian: Айдар Азатович Закарин; born 19 April 1994 in Lipetsk) is a Russian former professional cyclist, who rode professionally between 2013 and 2017 for the , , and teams. His brother Ilnur Zakarin ...

is also a racing cyclist. He is a Muslim, goes to mosque during the year, and listens to Tatari music to remind him of home. He is also a book lover.

Major results

;2006 : 8th Time trial,

UCI Juniors World Championships The UCI Juniors World Championships were a set of UCI World Championships events for junior bicycle cyclists in 2005 to 2009. In 2010 it was divided into: *The Junior men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships *The UCI Juniors Track Worl ...

;2007 : 1st UEC Champion Jersey

Time trial, UEC European Junior Road Championships ;2011 : 10th Overall Giro della Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia ;2012 : 1st Overall

Grand Prix of Adygeya Grand Prix of Adygeya was a cycling race held between 2010 and 2015 in Russia, and was held as part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of ...

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stages 2 & 4 : 1st Grand Prix of Donetsk : 4th Overall

Tour Alsace The Tour Alsace (or Tour d'Alsace) is a 6-day road bicycle race held annually in Alsace, France. It was first held in 2004 and it is a 2.2 rated event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Roa ...

::1st Stage 5 ( ITT) : 8th

Duo Normand The Duo Normand is a two-man team time trial (against the clock) for elite racing cyclists. Held annually at Marigny-le-Lozon in Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of '' ...

(with Alexander Rybakov) : 9th Overall Girobio ::1st Jersey green

Points classification ::1st Stage 5 : 10th Overall Grand Prix of Sochi ;2013 : 1st MaillotRusia

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

, National Road Championships : 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 1 ( ITT) : 5th

(with Alexander Rybakov) ;2014 : 1st Jersey blue

Overall Tour d'Azerbaïdjan : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall Grand Prix of Sochi : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 1 ( ITT) : 2nd Overall

Tour of Slovenia Tour of Slovenia is a stage race cycling race held in Slovenia. Between 2005 and 2018, it was organised as a 2.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle spor ...

: 3rd Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli ;2015 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

: 1st Stage 11 Giro d'Italia : 3rd Overall Arctic Race of Norway : 4th Overall

Tour de Pologne The Tour de Pologne ( Polish: ''Wyścig Dookoła Polski'', English: ''Tour of Poland'', official abbreviation TdP,) is an annual, professional men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages ...

: 9th Overall

: 10th Overall

Tour de San Luis The Tour de San Luis was a road cycling race that was held in San Luis Province, Argentina from 2007 to 2016. The race consisted of a competition over an individual time trial, and six stage race, stages. The competition carried a UCI rating of ...

;2016 : 1st Stage 17

: 3rd

Vuelta a Murcia The Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia ( en, Tour of Murcia) is a road bicycle race held in and around Murcia, Spain. The first four editions were reserved to amateurs. Originally the race was held in early March and consisted of five stages. However, d ...

: 4th Overall Paris–Nice ::1st Stage 6 : 4th Overall

: 5th

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five '' Monuments'' of the European professional ...

: 7th Overall

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of ...

: 7th Overall

Volta ao Algarve The Volta ao Algarve (Portuguese; en, Tour of the Algarve) is a road bicycle racing stage race held annually in the Algarve, Portugal. Since 2017, it has been organised as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became part of the new UCI ...

;2017 : 1st MaillotRusia

, National Road Championships : 2nd Overall

: 3rd Overall

: 5th Overall Giro d'Italia : 6th Overall Paris–Nice ;2018 : 7th

GP Miguel Induráin The Grand Prix Miguel Induráin ( es, Gran Premio Miguel Induráin), formerly the "Grand Prix Navarre" is a Spanish one-day road bicycle race. History The race was inaugurated in 1951, but was limited to local competition. It was rebranded after ...

: 9th Overall

: 10th Overall

;2019 : 8th Overall

: 10th Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Stage 13 : 10th Overall Paris–Nice ;2020 : 7th Overall

UAE Tour The UAE Tour ( ar, جولة الإمارات) is a road cycling stage race in the United Arab Emirates. It was first held in 2019 as part of the UCI World Tour. It was created as a result of the merging of the Abu Dhabi Tour and the Dubai Tour. ...

;2021 : 2nd Road race, National Road Championships : 8th Overall

Vuelta Asturias Vuelta Asturias is a professional cycle road race held in Spain in early May each year. The event was first run in 1925 but has not been held consistently until 1968 to present. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI ...

: 9th Overall

Settimana Ciclistica Italiana The Settimana Ciclistica Italiana is a professional bicycle road race held through out Italy. Its first edition took place in July 2021, as part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road bicyc ...

General classification results timeline

Tour de France 2016, zakharin (28595459495)

Monuments results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zakarin, Ilnur 1989 births Living people Doping cases in cycling Russian sportspeople in doping cases Russian male cyclists People from Naberezhnye Chelny Russian Giro d'Italia stage winners Russian Tour de France stage winners European Games competitors for Russia Cyclists at the 2015 European Games Olympic cyclists of Russia Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Volga Tatars Tatar sportspeople Tatar people of Russia Sportspeople from Tatarstan

Career

Early career and doping ban

Team Katusha (2015–19)

2015 season

2016 season

2017 season

2018 season

CCC Team

Gazprom–RusVelo

Personal life

Major results

General classification results timeline

Monuments results

See also

References

External links