Stuff Someone Said: Serhiy Gonchar

 "... In the last few years, people got used to calling me Honchar, especially  in Italy, but that is not my name... my name is Gonchar, so call me that." (Cyclingnews.com, 2006)

That's a story of passport mix up, kind of a mess really, but Serhiy made the best of it until it could be straightened out. 

Serhiy Gonchar is one of the most successful cyclists of all time, active as a professional from 1996 when he was Ukrainian National Time Trial Champion, through 2009. His last "big year" was 2006 when he finished 2nd at the Circuit de la Sarthe, headed the GC at the Giro d'Italia on two separate occasions, and led the Tour de France for stages 7 to 9, winning the individual time trails stages 7 and 19 in the process. As that might suggest to you, Gonchar was a time trial specialist, winning the Ukraine National Time Trial Championship another four times after the 1996 win (he was also National Road Race Champion in 2003).

Many of this biggest wins were in time trail stages during major, and minor, Tours including stage 18 of the 1997 Giro, and stage 5 of the 1997 Tour de Suisse, stage 3b of the 1998 Ronde van Nederland, stage 3b of the 1998 Four Days of Dunkirk, stage 21 of the Giro d'Italia, stage 3b of the 1999 Ronde van Nederland, stage 18 of the 1999 Giro d'Italia, stage 4 of the 2001 Ronde van Nederland, stage 21 of the 2003 Giro d'Italia, and stage 13 of the 2004 Giro d'Italia. In addition there were wins at the 1997, 1998 and 1999 Chrono des Herbiers, 1st at the 1999 Memorial Fauso Coppi and Grand Prix des Nations, 1st at the 2000 Settimana Ciclista Lombarda, 1st again at the 2000 Memorial Fausto Coppi, 1st again at the 2001 Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda, and 1st again (yet again) at the 2002 Memorial Fausto Coppi. To all these should be added a silver medal at the 1997 World Time Trail Championship and a bronze medal at the 1998 Worlds, as well as many other top ten placings.

I also glad to have finally found the reason for the different pronunciations of Kiev (Keev) and Kiev (Key-ev).