Oleg Tinkov has confirmed that there will be three Russian riders on the Team Tinkoff-Saxo roster for the 2014 season. This all but confirms that Ivan Rovny and Nikolay Trusov will be added to the team that already has Evgeny Petrov as their only Russian representative.

When Oleg Tinkov announced that he has bought Team Saxo-Tinkoff - which will now be known as Team Tinkoff-Saxo - from Bjarne Riis, he was keen to stress that the team was an international one and that no rider would be signed purely because of their nationality. Nonetheless, he has already been asked by Russian media how many Russian riders will be part of the team in the future.

In 2013 when Tinkov was a co-sponsor of the team, there was only one Russian on the roster. Evgeny Petrov rode strongly in the Giro d'Italia where he was the key support rider for Rafal Majka in the mountains.

Petrov will stay on the team in 2014 but he will be joined by two compatriots. In an interview with R-Sport, Tinkov has stated that there will be three Russians on the roster in the coming season.

"We have signed two and therefore we will have three Russians," he told R-Sport. "That is enough for now."

Tinkov didn't reveal the identities of the two new signings but it is already guaranteed Ivan Rovny and Nikolay Trusov will not ride in Tinkoff-Saxo colours in 2014. The two Russians attended the recent training camp in Gran Canaria where they rode alongside the riders that have already been confirmed as being part of the 2014 roster.

Rovny was once regarded as a highly talented climber who became junior world champion in 2005. He turned professional with Tinkoff Credits Systems in 2006 and rode there until he joined Katusha in 2009.

He rode in Radioshack colours in 2010 and 2011 but as his progress had stalled, he stepped down a level with Rusvelo in 2012. This year he has taken a further step down the ladder as he has been part of the continental Ceramica Flaminia team which is acting as a feeder squad for Team Saxo Bank.

His change appears to have done him good as he has had one of his best seasons ever in 2013. He has been a perennial contender in the hardest Italian one-day races and was second in the Giro della Toscana, third in the Giro dell'Appennino, fourth in the Tre Valli Varesine and  GP Industria & Artigianato, fifth in the Coppa Agostoni and sixth in the Trofeo Matteotti.

Trusov first showed his talents on the track and was regarded as a future sprinter when he turned professional with Tinkoff Credit Systems in 2007. In 2009, he joined Katusha where he rode for three years, taking his biggest win on a stage of the Volta a Catalunya in his first year at the Russian team.

Like Rovny, he has seen his progress stall and he was also part of Rusvelo in 2012 before moving down to continental level in 2013. While riding for the Dutch Cycling Team De Rijke, he failed to make much of an impact but still has earned himself a contract with the Danish team.

Trusov confirmed that he will be part of the team in 2014.

"Until November 19 we did not know whether we would be part of the team or whether I would go to the training camp in Gran Canaria," he said. "I did not have other options. I did not have the best season. It is still unclear why the team stopped sending me to races [his last race was in June]. No one explained it to me. Six teams folded and there were a lot of very good riders on the market. I was prepared for the worst-case scenario but in the end, it turned out well. Of couse I am happy.

In fact, Trusov has already discussed his race programme with the team.

"I will start the season at the Tour Down Under in Australia, then I will do the Dubai Tour," he said. "In the early sprint, I will do the northern classic on the cobbles. This is the right thing for me and what I love."

Trusov emphasized that the team is an international one.

"Oleg Tinkov required that there will be no alliances," he said. "This is an international project. I know that there are not only Rovny and Petrov. In my previous Dutch team, they communicated in English and Dutch which I don't understand at all. Of course it is nice to be in a team with people I know. For example, I have known Rovny since 1998."

Pires to join the team

Meanwhile, JornalCiclismo has reported that the team has signed a contract with Bruno Pires. The Portuguese climber was originally told that his contract would not be renewed and started to look for another team.

However, he was spotted at the recent training camp and according to the JornalCiclismo, he has earned himself a two-year contract with the team. He joined the team from Leopard-Trek in 2012 and has been a loyal domestique in his first two years as a Saxo-Tinkoff rider.

The team still hasn't confirmed the signings of Pires, Rovny and Trusov.