Oleg Tinkov: Contador a 'rip off'

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Oleg Tinkov may have stepped away from an official role in the world of pro cycling, but he remains as opinionated as ever if his Twitter feed is any indication. Yet again, the former team owner voiced his strong opinions on his former Grand Tour leader Alberto Contador. 

"Contador hasn't won any protour race in the last 11 months. He has received 4 million euro since then as a salary. What a rip off for investors," the former Team Tinkoff owner posted on Twitter Friday. It's the latest in a long list of statements he has made blasting Contador – and one that isn't entirely factually accurate as Contador did in fact win the prologue of the WorldTour Critérium du Dauphiné last June.

The Russian businessman has been publicly critical of Contador, who was Tinkoff's GC star for several seasons, on and off for years. Even back in 2013, he questioned the Spaniard's hunger and his work ethic.

"His salary doesn't match his performance. Too rich and isn't hungry," Tinkov wrote at the time.

Although Tinkov seemed to rein in the criticism thereafter for at least a while, he was back at it again at the end of last season, when his Tinkoff squad closed shop for good, marking the end of his time as a WorldTour team owner. In a Q&A with Cyclingnews in October, he predicted that Contador would never win another Grand Tour and called him a "sad person" who never wanted to drink champagne in comparison to the more relaxed Peter Sagan. Contador hit back at those comments earlier this year, saying "I drink champagne with my friends, not with him."

Indeed, Tinkov's tweet Friday was not even the first time he has criticised Contador this week, making a similar statement on Thursday: "Did someone count how many time Contador has crashed already this season?" he said. "It's not already funny.He has to hold bike better for $$ he gets."