Tour de France stage winner and Ukrainian cyclist Yaroslav Popovych posted a plea for help
The former pro is reaching out to aid those who are fleeing his home country
Photo by:
yaropopovych/Instagram
Yaroslav Popovych is a Ukrainian former professional cyclist who raced between 2002 and 2016. He was the winner of the u-23 road race at the 2001 UCI Road World Championships, and then turned professional in 2002 with Landbouwkrediet–Colnago. He finished third at the Giro d’Italia in 2003. He then joined Lance Armstrong’s Discovery Channel in 2005, and his focus switched to the Tour de France, where he won the young riders’ classification in 2005 and won Stage 12 in 2006.
As the Russian invasion continues, many pro athletes are trying to do what they can do to help. The Ukrainian superstar lives in Italy, but is very concerned about his fellow citizens who are finding themselves in a desperate and frightening situation.
In the video, he says how he never really posts much on Instagram like he is now, but he feels he needs to, given the situation in Ukraine.
The former pro had just returned from the UAE Tour, where he had not been sleeping well given the invasion. Like so many in the world, he was shocked and couldn’t believe it.
In an emotional video, he says that he has never asked for help but now he must. He lists how he is organizing deliveries from Italy of clothing, medicine, food and other supplies to the hundreds of thousands who have fled from his home country and are now displaced in surrounding countries. You can watch the video below.
