Ilnur Zakarin admits to losing 100k rubles after betting on teammate Marcel Kittel's victory at Tour de France: "I never bet on sports again"

Ilnur Zakarin was the best Russian GC rider of past decade. With stage wins from Giro d'Italia and Tour de France as well as podium result at the 2017 Vuelta a Espana, he has many memories to be proud of. In 2018, he completed a great Tour de France in the Katusha-Alpecin jersey along the mythical sprinter Marcel Kittel. One memory connected to the German speedster draws a somewhat warped smile on Zakarin's face even after the years.

"I was very lucky that we rode the Tour de France on the same team," Zakarin recounts the story on his Facebook. "After the stage, we met for dinner and I noticed that he was already eating his third plate of pasta. I asked: 'What's wrong, man?' He replied that he felt that he would win the stage tomorrow, and this feeling never lets him down."

"I laughed, but didn't put the information about the feeling aside, because I have the same thing. Just a sidenote, he won 5 stages at the Tour de France a year earlier [in 2017, ed.]."

"After dinner, I quickly got to my room and wrote to my buddy to bet 100 thousand [100k Rubles = €1350 as per average 2018 exchange ratio, ed.] on Kittel's victory. My buddy, who understands cycling, said that it was a bad initiative. But my emotions were stronger and I still bet on him. Of course, I sent the money right away and waited for the next day. The bet should work, and I will earn a lot of money."

"In the morning, I woke up cheerful and charged and expecting a big win. I wished Marcel good luck, and all day I covered him from the wind, fed him and protected him. I fell behind by the finish line, and when I got there, I immediately asked how he finished? He calmly replied that something did not go well that day."

Kittel's best result at the 2018 Tour de France, which later turned out to be his last participation at the race, was third in the opening stage. For Zakarin who had lost a bit of time (and money) at the beginning of the race, that Tour turned out to be pretty successful as he finished 9th overall after three weeks of racing. And gained a bit of wisdom too: "After that, I never bet on sports again."