Russian professional cyclist Ilnur Zakarin wrapped a length and impressive career in 2022. Zakarin won a stage of the Tour de France in 2016, then finished fifth in the Giro d’Italia a year later and on the podium in third at the Vuelta a Espana the same year. But his most interesting story has little to do with himself, and more to do with former teammate Marcel Kittel.
Kittel, who retired in 2019, was once one of the world’s top sprinters. The German’s incredible speed and power helped win 14 career Tour de France stages. In 2018, toward the end of his carer, he moved to the Katusha-Alpecin team where he was teammates with Zakarin. The pair both made Katusha-Alpecin’s Tour de France team, which led to a regrettable decision that cost Zakarin thousands of dollars.
“I just saw that@marcelkitte liked the previous post, I immediately remembered the story with it,” Zakarin posted to Facebook over the weekend. “I was very fortunate that he and I got to go on the Tour de France on the same team. After the 17th stage, we met for dinner and I noticed he’s already eating his third plate of pasta. I be like, “wat up bro?” He replies that he feels that I will win the stage tomorrow, and this feeling never fails him. I laughed, but I postponed the feeling information, because I feel the same. For a second, he won 5 stages of Tour de France a year earlier.”
What does the pasta have anything to do with it? Well, top cyclists tend to burn in the region of 6,000 calories in a Tour de France stage. So fueling before and during the stages is immensely important.
“After dinner, I quickly got to my room and wrote to my homie to bet 100 thousand for Kittel to win. Koresh, who understands cycling, said it was a bad initiative. But emotions turned out to be stronger and I still bet on him.
“Of course, I sent the money immediately and waited for the next day. The bet should work, and I will make a lot of money.”
So, how did that bet work out? After all, Kittel is genuinely a star sprinter and there was plenty of reason to believe he would win the stage. However, that’s not how things went down.
“I woke up in the morning energetic and charged up and expecting a big meal,” Zakarin continued. “I wished Marcel good luck, and I covered him from the wind, fed and protected him all day. I fell behind to the finish line, and when I got there, I immediately asked how he finished? He calmly replied that something went wrong today.
“After that, I no longer bet on sports.”
Yikes. That’s a hard lesson to learn. And one that Zakarin can only reveal now that he’s retired, lest he risk suspension for betting on cycling.
The post Pro Cyclist Ilnur Zakarin Lost $100K Gambling On Teammate To Win Because He Ate A Ton Of Pasta appeared first on BroBible.
Pro Cyclist Ilnur Zakarin Lost $100K Gambling On Teammate To Win Because He Ate A Ton Of Pasta
Pinoy Human Rights
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