'Sasha' Zinoviev, 43, cycling champ, dies - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

02-23-2005, 12:40 PM

Wednesday, February 23, 2005
'Sasha' Zinoviev, 43, cycling champ

By Rebecca Goodman
Enquirer staff writer

Alexandre M. Zinoviev
Zoom
DEERFIELD TWP. - Alexandre M. "Sasha" Zinoviev, a two-time world cycling
champion and Soviet sports hero, died Monday of gastric cancer at
University Hospital. The Landen resident was 43.

Mr. Zinoviev was captain of the Soviet team that won the 1983 world team
time championship. He was preparing for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles
when the Soviet Union boycotted the games.

The Soviet team took first place in an alternative competition of Eastern
Bloc nations. In 1985, the Soviets beat the Italian team that had won the
Olympic gold medal.

"I talked to some of the officials that were at (the Olympics in) L.A.,
and they said that the Soviet team was so strong, there was no way they
would not have won that gold medal" had they been permitted to compete,
said Charlie Wright of Montgomery, a friend and amateur cyclist.

Mr. Zinoviev received a medal for outstanding achievement and citizenship
from the Soviet government after he won a race through a number of
countries in Western and Eastern Europe to promote world peace. The
manager of Greg LeMond's team recruited Mr. Zinoviev, but the Soviet Union
squelched the move. In 1986, LeMond became the first American to win the
Tour de France.

Born in Velikie Luki, Russia, on May 3, 1961, Mr. Zinoviev held degrees in
computer programming and physical education from the College of Kharkiv in
what is now Ukraine. He became a professional cyclist and coached the
Soviet national team in 1990.

That year, he came to the United States as part of a cycling Sister City
exchange between Cincinnati and Kharkiv, which was organized by the
Cincinnati Cycle Club. In Greater Cincinnati for 10 days that summer, he
met Wright, who owned two bike shops.

"He asked me if he could come back the following winter and spend a month
to learn more about American business," Wright recalled. So Mr. Zinoviev,
who spoke no English, returned in December to work at one of Wright's
stores.

Mr. Zinoviev went home and continued his racing career. After retiring in
1992 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, he returned to Greater
Cincinnati to start a bike shop with Wright's help. He operated the
Kharkiv Bike and Skate Shop on the Little Miami Bike Trail in Loveland for
six months in 1993. After his visa expired, he returned to Kharkiv, where
he married.

"He wanted to come back to the U.S. for a longer period. He had a choice -
taking what he learned back to Kharkiv and start a business there, or
working toward living in the United States," Wright said. "That was a real
tough decision. ... However, there was a lot of instability in Kharkiv."

Mr. Zinoviev obtained a work permit to coach cycling for Queen City
Wheels, a local bike-racing club. He got a green card through a
lottery. His name was one of 110,000 drawn from 8.5 million
applicants. Only 55,000 of those actually received green
cards. Mr. Zinoviev became a U.S. citizen in 2001.

He owned and managed Klip Co., a beauty salon in Loveland, and was a
senior program analyst for United Medical Resources in Blue Ash. "He asked
so little and just gave so much," said Vickie Buyniski Gluckman, owner and
founder of the company. "He was worried about the company and not about
himself. I would have loved to have 300 Alexes working for me."

His wife, Lora Korzh Zinoviev, said: "Everyone was moved by my husband's
performance and intelligence. He was an exceptional man."

His friend Wright said, "He was a champion in sports, and he was a
champion in life."

In addition to his wife, survivors include a daughter, Polena Alexandra
Zinoviev, 10.

Visitation: noon to 2 p.m. today, followed by the funeral at
Nurre-Mihovk-Rosenacker Funeral Home, 10211 Plainfield Road. Burial will
be at Rest Haven Memorial Park.

Memorials: Polena A. Zinoviev Scholarship Fund, c/o C.L. Foy, Northside
Bank and Trust, 4125 Hamilton Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45223.

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