Pavel Sivakov hopes to prove himself at Paris-Nice: "I have more to give than I've shown so far"

Pavel Sivakov is a standout rider with tremendous potential, but he is currently held back by his team duties. Despite being a skilled climber, he hasn't had many opportunities to reveal his full capabilities, but he is looking forward to doing so at Paris-Nice.

Upon joining the INEOS Grenadiers, Sivakov had to accept a supporting role. "It is difficult to grow in such a team," he told  L'Equipe. He continues, "There are so many good riders. I turn 26 this year and am in the period where I can reach my maximum potential. I want to show that I have the stature of a leader, and my goal is to really compete in the general classification. I want to perform and prove that I deserve to be protected.”

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Sivakov has not had many victories to his name, but he was able to emerge as the winner of the Vuelta a Burgos in the previous season."I haven't been lucky very often, but that made me doubt myself. I now feel I have reached a milestone physically and mentally as I have matured in terms of cycling in general. I also realized that I am a slow maturing rider and that I needed time to develop. Now I'm really ready. Winning the Tour of Burgos was cool because it's a great race, but my ambitions are bigger than that.”

He didn't shy away from challenging Tadej Pogacar and his team in the upcoming Paris-Nice. “Tadej rides around impressively. But in a race like Paris-Nice, with a very technical course and the risk of crashes, there is a way to catch this type of rider, unplayable elsewhere on the pedals. As a collective, INEOS Grenadiers has nothing to fear from UAE Team Emirates or Jumbo-Visma. I'm convinced of that. It is also more than important for me to be recognised by the French public. I have more to give than I've shown so far,” concluded Sivakov