Romāns Vainšteins (born 3 March 1973) is a former professional
road bicycle racer
Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most com ...
from
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
. He won the road race at the
2000 World Cycling Championship.
Career
He won the road race at the
2000 World Cycling Championship in
Plouay, France. At the end of the race, he won the sprint for the line ahead of
Zbigniew Spruch and defending champion
Óscar Freire
Óscar Freire Gómez (born 15 February 1976) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He was one of the top sprinters in road bicycle racing, having won the world championship three times, equalling Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbe ...
.
Following his world title, Vainšteins moved to the team under
Patrick Lefevere. Even with some impressive results, such as third place in the
2001 Paris–Roubaix, he was unable to follow up on the success of his world championship. He left the team after the 2002 season and raced with
Vini Caldirola and for two more years before retiring.
In 2017, Vainsteins returned to Latvia to work as the coach of the Latvian national cycling team after his unanimously appointment as head coach of the men’s national team. He also helped with coaching the under-23, junior, youth, and women’s teams.
Controversy
In March 2025, Vainšteins was arrested at
Orio al Serio airport in
Bergamo
Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...
, Italy, after landing on a flight from
Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
, after his ex-wife, a former Italian resident, filed a case against him over non-payment of his child support obligation. Some reports suggested that the figure he owes was close €70,000. The couple had divorced in 2001. In 2018, he was sentenced to a four-month prison sentence and a €300 euro fine, and a warrant was issued for his arrest over non-payment, but he did not serve the sentence.
Major results
;1995
: 1st
Circuit Franco-Belge
;1996
: 3rd
Memorial Van Coningsloo
;1998
: 1st
GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
: 1st
Grand Prix Aarhus
: 3rd
Road race, National Road Championships
;1999
: 1st
Road race, National Road Championships
: 1st Overall
Settimana internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
: 1st
Paris–Brussels
The Brussels Cycling Classic (known until June 2013 as Paris–Brussels) is a semi classic European bicycle race, one of the oldest races on the international calendar.
History
Paris–Brussels was first run on 12 August 1893 as an amateur eve ...
: 1st
Grand Prix of Aargau Canton
Grand Prix of Aargau Canton () is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Aargau canton, one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland.
The race consists of fifteen laps around the Swiss town of Gippingen, which belongs to the municipa ...
: 1st Stage 6
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
:
Tirreno–Adriatico
Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of th ...
::1st Stages 1 & 6
: 1st
Gran Premio di Chiasso
The Gran Premio di Chiasso () was an annual road bicycle race held in Chiasso, Switzerland. It was a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour
The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by ...
: 2nd Giro del Lago Maggiore
: 3rd
HEW Cyclassics
The Hamburg Cyclassics (currently known as the Bemer Cyclassics for sponsorship purposes) is an annual one-day professional and amateur road bicycle race, cycling race in and around Hamburg, Germany. Although the route varies, its distance is alw ...
: 3rd
Coppa Bernocchi
The Coppa Bernocchi is a European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race held in Legnano, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, before joining the UCI ProSeries in 2020.
In 1 ...
: 4th
Trofeo Melinda
Trofeo Melinda was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour
The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing com ...
: 5th
Gent–Wevelgem
Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...
;2000
: 1st
Road race,
UCI Road World Championships
The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and , a UCI Road World Championships ...
: 1st
Coppa Bernocchi
The Coppa Bernocchi is a European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race held in Legnano, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, before joining the UCI ProSeries in 2020.
In 1 ...
: 2nd Overall
Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt
The International Rheinland-Pfalz Rundfahrt was a stage race, multi-stage road bicycle racing, road bicycle race held in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. In the years from 1966 to 2007, it was considered one of the biggest sporting events in Rhine ...
::1st Stages 1 & 2
: 2nd Overall
Three Days of De Panne
: 2nd
Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli
: 3rd
Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races:
* Tour of Flanders (men's race)
The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...
: 3rd
Clásica de San Sebastián
The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa — Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián (San Sebastián Classic) is a one-day professional men's bicycle road race in northern Spain that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián. It is the m ...
: 3rd
Classic Haribo
: 4th
Amstel Gold Race Amstel Gold Race may refer to:
* Amstel Gold Race (men's race)
The Amstel Gold Race is a one-day classic cycle races, classic road bicycle race, road cycling race held annually since 1966 Amstel Gold Race, 1966 in the province of Limburg (Netherl ...
: 4th
Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne
: 5th
Omloop Het Volk
: 5th
Grand Prix of Aargau Canton
Grand Prix of Aargau Canton () is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Aargau canton, one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland.
The race consists of fifteen laps around the Swiss town of Gippingen, which belongs to the municipa ...
: 6th Overall
Ronde van Nederland
The Tour of the Netherlands ''(Dutch: Ronde van Nederland)'' was a road bicycle racing stage-race in the Netherlands, founded in 1948 in sports, 1948.
It was an annual race since 1975 in sports, 1975. Because of the start of the Union Cycliste ...
: 9th
Milan–San Remo
Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...
: 10th Overall
Tirreno–Adriatico
Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of th ...
::1st Stage 8
: 10th
HEW Cyclassics
The Hamburg Cyclassics (currently known as the Bemer Cyclassics for sponsorship purposes) is an annual one-day professional and amateur road bicycle race, cycling race in and around Hamburg, Germany. Although the route varies, its distance is alw ...
: 10th
Züri–Metzgete
;2001
: 1st Stage 3
Volta a Catalunya
The Volta a Catalunya (; Tour of Catalonia, ) 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 the Basque Country. The race has had ...
: 1st Stage 6
Tirreno–Adriatico
Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of th ...
: 2nd
HEW Cyclassics
The Hamburg Cyclassics (currently known as the Bemer Cyclassics for sponsorship purposes) is an annual one-day professional and amateur road bicycle race, cycling race in and around Hamburg, Germany. Although the route varies, its distance is alw ...
: 3rd Overall
UCI Road World Cup
The UCI Road World Cup was a season-long Road bicycle racing, road cycling competition held from 1989 until 2004 and comprising ten one-day events.
The World Cup was made up of around ten Road bicycle racing, one-day races chosen from the prest ...
: 3rd
Milan–San Remo
Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...
: 3rd
Paris–Roubaix
Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...
;2002
: 3rd
Time trial
In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...
, National Road Championships
: 5th
Paris–Tours
Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m ...
;2003
: 1st Stage 4
Giro Della Provincia Di Lucca
;2004
: 5th
Grand Prix de Fourmies
The Grand Prix de Fourmies is a bicycle race held in the Fourmies commune of France. From 2005 to 2019 it was organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2021, it joined the UCI ProSeries
The UCI ProSeries is the second tier men's ...
: 7th
Milan–San Remo
Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...
Grand Tour results
Classics results timeline
See also
*
List of Jews in cycling
References
External links
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vainsteins, Romans
1973 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Talsi
21st-century Latvian Jews
Latvian male cyclists
Olympic cyclists for Latvia
Jewish Latvian sportspeople
UCI Road World Champions (elite men)
Cyclists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Latvian Giro d'Italia stage winners