Written by TEAM BOBYN at 12:31 26/11-2023
Team Bobyn are sad to announce the retirement of Innokenty"The Pope" Yenotov from Professional cycling. Not necessarily famed for his individual success, it was his technical prowess and team-working that endeared him to teamates and fans alike.
Born in Samarkhand, Uzbekistan. His parents moved to Uzbekistan in the 1960s to work as archeologists in Samarkhand and Bukhara. Predominately Catholic - his grandparents came from Lviv and were of Polish-Ukrainian heritage. He acquired the nickname "The Pope" while at school, being in a Catholic minority in a predominately Muslim country although his family tended to ciculate around academic circles. His nickname was later reinforced by his TB teammates due to the fact he had 6 children and his lack of "self restraint".
Early years for Innokenty was tough. In his late teens, he was targetted and harrassed by the local police. In any open discussion he kept saying "I'm Innocent" which the local police believed he was hiding something and so thought he obviously wasn't. In the end his parents were able to smuggle him out of Uzbekistan at the age of 18 (dressed in an Abaya) to Spain - where he managed to enter into education and more latterly into University.
Cycling was always a passion for Innokenty, and now in Spain he was free to develop his passion, safe in the knowldge that he would not be arrested and bundled away to a remote cotton plantation. He quickly become very popular in the local cycling scene and then at the age of 20 he signed for the youth academy of the local spanish cycling outfit ekaitz team. At that time ekaitz team were a formidale side, gracing the upper echelons of the cycling league in D1 and D2. Naturally as the new boy on the block he struggled to get rides although he did get some expsoure to D1 and D2 races and of course the youth races.
Not really setting the scene alight, he quickly came to the attention of the Uzbek NT manager Mal, who quickly realised Yenotov's technical ability and acted as an interediary to facilitate Yenotov's transfer from ekaitz team to Team Bobyn for three (large) jars of picked cucumbers and where he joined fellow countryman and technical expert, Oleg Myatlev. Yenotov spent 3 years under Myatlev's tutelege and developed from strenght to strenght.
S56 was the season, Yenotov came of age. Following Myatlev's retirement, Yenotov became TB's go-to technicist. Also it was the same time after much intervention to the local authorities from both Manager Mal and Uzbek Hero Myatlev that Yenotov came in from the cold and was able to race for the Uzbek NT. He secured 2 caps in his inaugrual season. It must have helped as Uzbekistan won the Comrade Cup that season.
The following season The Pope really started to come into his own with his first place and his first podium, in addition to his first appearrances in the CON. The next two seasons - he continued to impress, predominately as a support rider and he himself was able to secure placements and podiums along the way.
S61 came in change in focus as Yenotov was earmark to provide support to the cobblists which meant more races on home turf..where he began to develop a cult following amongst TB fans. He provided sterling service and in S61 his hard work was rewarded with his first and only win at the Tulcea Sprint - this time assisted by all his TB teamates in what proved to be his best season ever.
After the heights of S61, he settled back into familiar territory as a technical support rider dfor the likes of Rusanov culminating in a superb D4 podium performance at the Rio Gallegos. He delayed his retirement to ensure one more ride in the WT and then announced his withdrawal from pro-cycling to his awaiting fans.
The Pope was one of the quiet, unsung heroes at TB, he provided great technical support to the teams lead-out and cobblists (being not a bad cobblist himself). Never really a tour rider - preferring the day races he would be the first to admit that he could have done much more in his pro-career. That being said h now joins the ranks of the great Uzbek technical riders that TB has developed a niche for. Sorely missed but glad he has now joined the coaching staff at TB.
Races: 252 (310 for TB)
Wins: 1
Podiums: 3
Best Tour GC: N/A
Classics: N/A
Placements: 7
Highest ever Ranking: 1437th (S63)
International Caps: 36 (incl. 8 CON apps)
Best Win (as a TB rider): S63 D6 Tulcea Sprint
Best Podium Performance: S66 3rd D4 Rio Gallegos GP
Highest ever Divisional Performance:
(S52) D1 71st Moscow Red Square TT
Best Div 1 Performance As above
Best Div 1.1 Performance N/A
Best Div 2 Performance S52 72nd Locarno-Ascona
Best Div3 Performance: S62 60th Cobbles of Astana
Best Div4 Performance: As above
Best Div5 Performance: S63 4th Sparta - Sparta
Best Div6 Performance:As above
Best Div7 Performance: S61 10th Krasnoarmiis´k Cobblestone
Best Div8 Performance: N/A
Div9-Div 11 N/A
ND Performance: S52 29th Stavoren ITT (U23)
Ukraine Club Records: None
Best Performance S59th 5th Kovel-Kovel
Best International Performance:
S61 18th Lozuvatka - Kryvyi Rih (WTB) #41 WTB
S59 98th WTA Velikiye Luki - Gruzdovo (WT) #39
S59 51st WTC Budapest - Debrecen (WT) #35
S59 19th WTD Somerset Village - Fort Victoria (WT) #4
Best CON performance S60 51st Paris CON
Comrade Cup Title x 2 (S56 2 caps, S58 4 caps S61 2 caps))
U23 Honours - N/A
Tour Record
MINUTEMEN (D4)
GC: N/A
Av.Pos. S66 85th
Best Stage Performance: S62 9th Concord - Faneuil Hall #51
LA COUPE (D4)
GC: N/A
Av.Pos. S66 62nd
Best Stage Performance: S66 27th Parmi les Camps Touaregs #18
GIRO (D4)
GC: N/A
Av.Pos. S62 106th
Best Stage Performance: S62 72nd Catania Prologue #36
STONE CITY (D5)
GC N/A
Av. Pos. (S60) 60th
Best stage Performance:(S60) 31st Toshkent - Toshkent #12
FAST ON WHEELS (D5)
GC N/A
Av.Pos. (S60) 55th
Best Stage Performance: S60 10th Esbjerg - Holstebro #41
JAWLAT (D6)
GC N/A
Av. Pos. (S61) 89th
Best stage Performance:(S61) 40th Al Mouj Muscat - Al Quriyat
SANREIZEN (D7)
GC N/A
Av. Pos. (S56) 45th
Best stage Performance:(S56) 25th Fujisan TT #15
Subscribers: 6
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Comments
Indeed !
A good nickname is half of the success of a career!
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