# 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 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 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