Vasil Kiryienka

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.{{cite web |access-date=2009-11-28

Caisse d'Epargne (2009–2012)

Kiryienka moved to the Spanish 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 () after the pair's decisive attack with 14 km remaining.

On 23 May 2011, during the Giro d'Italia, Kiryienka's 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. 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. The team had met to consider withdrawing from the race after Tondó's death, but instead the riders unanimously voted to ride on. 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.{{cite web|author=Jean-François Quénet|url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kiryienka-paid-tribute-to-xavier-tondo|title=Kiryienka paid tribute to Xavier Tondo|date=28 May 2011|work=Cyclingnews.com|access-date=31 May 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130605070057/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kiryienka-paid-tribute-to-xavier-tondo | archive-date=5 June 2013 | url-status= live

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

Team Sky (2013–2020)

Kiryienka left at the end of the 2012 season, and joined on an initial three-year contract from the 2013 season onwards.

In May 2015, Kiryienka won the individual time trial of the Giro d'Italia, which was 59.5 km long and relatively rolling. In June 2015, he won the individual time trial at the inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan. On 23 September 2015, Kiryienka won the individual time trial at the CI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia, United States.

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.

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

Major results

Road

;1999 : 3rd Time trial, National Championships ;2000 : 2nd Time trial, National Championships ;2001 : 2nd Time trial, National Championships ;2002 : 1st [[File:MaillotBielorrusia.PNG|20px]] Time trial, National Championships ;2004 : National Championships ::2nd Time trial ::3rd Road race : 6th Overall Tour of Turkey ;2005 : 1st [[File:MaillotBielorrusia.PNG|20px]] 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 [[File:MaillotBielorrusia.PNG|20px]] 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 [[File:Jersey orange.svg|20px]] Overall Route du Sud : 1st Stage 20 Giro d'Italia : 2nd Overall Critérium International ::1st [[File:Jersey green.svg|20px]] Points classification : 9th Overall Vuelta a Murcia : 10th Overall Tour of the Basque Country ::1st Stage 2 ;2012 : 3rd [[File:Bronze medal uci.svg|15px]] Time trial, UCI World Championships : 6th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné ;2013 : 1st Stage 18 Vuelta a España : UCI World Championships ::3rd [[File:Bronze medal uci.svg|15px]] 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 : [[File:Jersey red number.svg|20px]] Combativity award Stage 11 Vuelta a España ;2015 : 1st [[File:Jersey rainbow chrono.svg|20px]] Time trial, UCI World Championships : 1st [[File:Gold medal blank.svg|15px]] Time trial, European Games : 1st [[File:MaillotBielorrusia.PNG|20px]] Time trial, National Championships : 1st Chrono des Nations : 1st Stage 14 (ITT) Giro d'Italia ;2016 : 1st Chrono des Nations : 2nd [[File:Silver medal uci.svg|15px]] Time trial, UCI World Championships ;2017 : UCI World Championships ::3rd [[File:Bronze medal uci.svg|15px]] Team time trial ::5th Time trial : 6th GP Miguel Induráin ;2018 : 1st [[File:MaillotBielorrusia.PNG|20px]] Time trial, National Championships : 9th Time trial, UCI World Championships ;2019 : 1st [[File:Gold medal blank.svg|15px]] Time trial, European Games

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

Track

;2003 : UCI World Cup Classics, Aguascalientes ::1st Individual pursuit ::3rd Team pursuit : UEC European Under-23 Championships ::3rd [[File:Bronze medal europe.svg|15px]] Individual pursuit ::3rd [[File:Bronze medal europe.svg|15px]] 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 [[File:Bronze medal uci.svg|15px]] Points race, UCI World Championships ;2008 : 1st [[File:Jersey rainbow.svg|20px]] Points race, UCI World Championships

References

References

1. Mills, Benjamin. "Team Sky Photo Gallery". [[BSkyB]].
2. "Team Sky".
3. "Team Ineos". [[Union Cycliste Internationale]].
4. Malach, Pat. (30 January 2020). "Kiryienka retires due to recurring 'cardiac issues'". [[Cyclingnews.com]].
5. "BelAZ". [[Union Cycliste Internationale]].
6. (14 July 2010). "Sergio Paulinho snatches Tour de France stage win". [[BBC Sport]].
7. (23 May 2011). "Xavier Tondo dies in domestic accident". [[Cyclingnews.com]].
8. Felix Lowe. (28 May 2011). "Kiryienka remembers Tondo with win". Yahoo! News Network.
9. (23 May 2011). "Movistar to continue in Giro in the wake of Tondo's death". [[Cyclingnews.com]].
10. (19 September 2012). "Road World Championships: Tony Martin retains time trial title". [[BBC Sport]].
11. (18 August 2012). "Kiryienka to Sky for three years".
12. (23 May 2015). "Contador powers back into Giro lead in stage 14 ITT won by Kiryienka". [[VeloNews]].
13. (18 June 2015). "Kiryienka, Van Dijk win European Games time trials".
14. (23 September 2015). "Kiryienka wins time-trial gold at World Championships". [[BBC Sport]].
15. (30 January 2020). "Vasil Kiryienka calls time on his career". National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus.