A few days ago, Danish medias explained that Bjarne Riis would like to buy back the Tinkoff-Saxo team. But Oleg Tinkov, the millionaire owner, denies dealing with the former Tour de France winner whom he claims is obsessed about returning to professional cycling because of his ego. The Russian was interviewed by CyclingTips and he explained his mind about the recent news.

"He (Riis) never contacted me. I don’t think he has money. He has wishes, obsession probably to come back to cycling, but it is his personal business. I don’t know. He never approached me," he explained. "Once he has the money he can call me, we will talk. But I think it is just talk, no money."

"I do [enjoy owning the squad], but I still believe that [making money] is what I am trying to achieve," he said. "I am trying to do cycling like a business, I am a businessman. If someone comes to me with the amount that is greater than the amount that I paid to Riis, I would definitely consider to sell and to make money. I am a businessman, I have sold four businesses before. I have set them up and sold them."

“If I get more money, I can sell. However, I can continue to enjoy it as the owner. I can look. Why not? It is a business. If someone writes me a cheque, why not?”

He critiziced the other team owners. According to him, they are feebleness. "The other team owners don't have big balls, they are chickens."