Yaroslav Popovych pulled the curtain down on his 15-year career at Paris-Roubaix last April, but little over a month later he was back in the thick of the action.
The Ukrainian made the instant transition to the role of directeur sportif at the Trek-Segafredo team, where he rode for two and a half seasons, and faced a baptism of fire at the Giro d'Italia from behind the wheel of the team car.
"The first few days – the first week even – I was like 'what am I doing here?' It was so difficult, I was dying every day!" he told Cyclingnews at the Vuelta a San Juan, his first race of the 2017 season.
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"My first stage was in the middle of the Giro, from Campe Bisenzio to Sestola. It was up and down, no flat. I was in the second car – not the first one, fortunately – but I was completely gone in the last hour – I didn't understand what I was doing, I was like in shock."
But it wasn't just the stress and pressure of driving in the race for the first time, with the constant awareness required to safely pass riders and move through traffic coupled with the need to call the shots on race strategy.
"When you're a rider, everything is organised for you and everything is taken care of, but when you're the director you wake up in morning early, and got to bed really late," said Popovych, laughing. "There is so much planning, you have to decide on the programme and discuss with all the staff."
Cancellara
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