The members of the new Bahrain-Merida gathered in a conference room of a Croatian hotel at the end of last month and, one-by-one, stood up and introduced themselves to their new colleagues. The likes of Joaquim Rodríguez hardly needed an introduction but when a shy-looking lad stood up and said his name was Ondrej Cink, shouts of "who?" went up around the room.
That might have been the reaction for many – save for the mountain bike aficionados – when Bahrain-Merida announced the signing of the Czech 25-year-old a few weeks ago.
Cink has always dreamed of one day competing in the Tour de France, but he never imagined himself taking up road racing this early – much less finding himself pulling on the same jersey as Vincenzo Nibali, one of only six winners of all three Grand Tours.
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"I always watch them on TV and now I'm sitting down to dinner with them," he says of his new companions, speaking to Cyclingnews in Croatia. "It's crazy."
It's crazy, indeed, that Cink, who hasn't raced on the road – save for the odd amateur criterium in the Czech Republic – for the best part of eight years, will find himself in a WorldTour peloton when he kicks off his road career at the Tour Down Under in January.
So how did a young cross country mountain biker – a former U23 world champion and elite Worlds bronze medallist last year – who envisaged himself on the fat tyres and trails for a good two or three more years, wind up with a WorldTour contract?
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ondrej-cink-the-accidental-worldtour-pro
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