Oleg Tinkov will reveal the identity of his new team on Monday at a press conference in London. Amidst speculation that he will buy the Saxo-Tinkoff team from owner Bjarne Riis, the Russian states that he is happy to be entering the sport at the highest level.

When Oleg Tinkov decided to end his sponsorship of the Saxo-Tinkoff team, he made it clear that he had no intentions of leaving cycling. On the contrary, he planned to take control of a team to have more influence on the decisions.

He first tried to take over the Cannondale team but the negotiations broke down. Since then, Tinkov's spokesman has stated that the Russian businessman has a number of potential projects on the table, both with existing and new teams, and that he would make a final decision in early December.

He will keep his promise as Tinkov has now made up his mind and reached an agreement to continue with one of the projects. In an interview with Velonews, the Russian reveals that he will disclose the identity of his team on Monday at a press conference in London.

“[I’ve] always dreamed to go to the sport’s highest level,” he said. “Now I have this possibility.”

The statement indicates that Tinkov will take over one of the existing WorldTour team and this adds further fuel to the speculation that he has bought the Saxo-Tinkoff team from current owner Bjarne Riis. In early November, Gazzetta dello Sport reported that they had already reached a deal but both parties were quick to deny the rumours.

Since then, speculation has been rife as Tinkov took part in the recent Saxo-Tinkoff training camp in Gran Canaria. Two Russian riders, Ivan Rovny and Nikolay Trussov, both attended the camp too, thus making further indications of the possible future of the team. This week Irish riders Matt Brammeier and Nicolas Roche both confirmed that Tinkov has indeed been in negotiations with the Danish team.

Riis is currently under investigation by the Danish anti-doping authorities who are trying to test the validity of some of the claims made by Michael Rasmussen. Danish media have suggested that the Dane wants to get rid of his ownership as the investigation may bring damning evidence against him.

Saxo Bank press officer Kasper Elbjørn tells Danish newspaper BT that he is aware of the press conference but that he can't say anything more. This is a completely different statement to the one he gave when the Gazzetta story was published where he was very quick to deny the claims.