Biography of Denis Menshov

For all the love of our citizens to a two -wheeled friend, the conditions for a real cycling - both on the highway and on the track - almost completely left. Rare enthusiasts who supported the smoldering remnants of Soviet Sports Schools and sports sections tried to extend the agony of Soviet cycling for as long as possible. Recently, the situation is clearly getting better, but the consequences of a huge failure, 20 years long, will affect for a long time.

Nevertheless, it cannot be said that with the fall of the country, Soviet cycling died. And in "Time of Time," we had real stars. We will tell you about one of these stars, the brightest star of the Russian highway of modern time - Denis Menshov. Denis Menshov was born on January 25 in the city of Eagle. This was an ordinary boy from the shores of the Oka, no different from thousands of his peers, except, except, unless, inherent in the boyfriend, thoughtfulness.

Like all the boys, he was fond of football, and from about 11 years old he began to visit other sports sections. But a turning point in Menshov’s life was the appearance at the school where he studied, the coach of Alexei Alexandrovich Afonin, who conducts a set in the bicycle section. So, quite everyday and uncomplicated, the star of Denis Menshov broke out. Classes in cycling were completely devoid of expected romance.

It was hard work: in order to get your first racing bike, it was necessary to shed a lot of sweat and blood. Many friends of Denis, unable to withstand exhausting training, threw classes in cycling, but Menshov remained. And as time has shown, it is not in vain. A year later, painstaking classes, finally receiving the right to participate in races, Denis Menshov won the first of them!

At this moment, Denis finally decided to seriously devote himself to cycling. Speaking for the youth team of the Oryol region, Menshov markedly progressed and gained experience, which, ultimately, allowed him to overcome the next career step - at the Youth Championship of Russia, he was noticed by the coach of the strongest Russian team, Yuri Mikhailovich Dvinin.

In the year, while still a junior, Menshov wins in an adult Sochi for many days. In the same year, Denis won several more victories in Russia and abroad. The next season, Menshov, who has already earned a name, leads to an adult army team, participating in races in France, Belgium and Spain. In the Spanish mountains, he once again proves his universalism, gaining serious victories at an adult level.

So the fate of Menshov was so that it was with Spain that all his loud victories and outstanding achievements are connected. In the year, Denis receives an invitation to the amateur composition of the Spanish team of Banesto, which at that time was the strongest European cycling -killer, holds a magnificent season and enters the Russian -handed Roster of the legendary Spanish team for the year, concluding the first professional contract at the highest level.

The move to Spain coincided with another significant event in Menshov’s life. In the year, Denis met his future wife Nadezhda. In the year, their marriage took place in the hometown of Denis.

This whole large and friendly family often visits the eagle, especially when Denis participates Multi-day Grand Tours. But before the participation of Denis Menshov in the Grand Tours, there was still a long way. To begin with, Denis won the unofficial world championship for youth - the Luxembourg multi -day Tour Avenir, winning two stages and confidently taking the first place in the final classification.

The next year was marked by the victory of the most difficult legendary multi-day “Dauphin Liber”. But these were only flowers! Menshov’s career developed progressively and experts unanimously spoke about the imminent and inevitable big victories of the Russian rider at Grand Tours. Moreover, in the year Denis Menshov won the title of best young rider Tour de France!

It was a grand success that was at the same time generous advance, which had to be worked out. And Menshov had everything for this! Those who know Denis well, unanimously claim that it is amazingly combined with leadership qualities and the ability to work in the interests of the team, sometimes neglecting their own ambitions. Another valuable human quality of Menshov is the ability to think and analyze both during the race and after it.

As for the “bicycle” qualities of Denis, he is a real station wagon who knows how to maintain peloton’s pace in plains, which feels perfectly in the mountains and is not inferior to recognized leaders in individual races for a while. Such a rich arsenal allowed Denis to win many professional victories both in classic one -day races and in multi -day competitions that combine different profiles and lengths of stages.

A separate story is the relationship between Denis Menshov with Grand Tours. In addition to the fact that Menshov is the most titled Russian racer of the current currently, he is also the most stable participant in the Grand Slam races.It was the Spanish “Volt” who was the first to submit to Denis in the year, immediately after the transition of Menshov from the decayed “il Ballears - Banesta” to the Dutch team “Slabank”.

In the orange team, Denis became the main character for many years. With a chronic shortage of Slarbank, solid mountain racers, Denis won the mountain stages alone, taking breaks on the crazy mountain slopes, refuting the postulates about human capabilities. The first “Vuel” won by Menshov in the year was accompanied by a series of scandals and caused a skepticism in certain circles.

But you need to know the character of Denis! In order to stop all the conversations about who is the king of the Spanish Super-Minor Day, he simply won it again-in the year. As in, along with the victory in the general, Menshov took the title of best mountain racer "Vuelta". And again - acting in the mountains almost alone! During the break between his two greatest victories, Menshov took the stage for the Tour de France.

Only the “Jiro” remained unconquered, which Denis, in fact, never traveled due to the features of the individual training program. But Denis Menshov has no time to dream. This still greedy to victories, the racer radically breaks the well-established training schedule in the summer and goes to Jiro! And wins her! And again - almost without any support in the mountains!

The recognized "miners", who were taken out by several well -trained "squires", simply removed a hat in front of Denis! Here he is, Denis Menshov, is one of the last riders of Soviet hardening, who brought worldwide glory to Russian cycling. And the next generations of Russian racer who have already managed to declare themselves certainly equal to the no longer going to end Denis.

Kirill Kupriyanov.