Team Bobyn are sad to announce the retirement of
Polikarp "the shock absorber" Zhivenkov. Another unsung hero of TB. Inspite of He looked ungamely on a bike due to his rather large size but he appearred to glide effortlessly on the tough cobblestones of the OCM cycle world size and brought much support to the leading captains of the cobblist outfits of TB - hence his nickname - the shock absorber.
Born in Dnipropetrovsk to a poor steel-mining family - his father worked in the steel mills while his mother steal.
Zhivenkov never really showed any inclination in cycling until around S50 in his youth - his mother came back with a racing bike "acquired" during Team Bobyn's promotional tour of Ukraine. He seemd naturally gifted - especially on the hard pitholed roads around the old decaying steelmills of Dnipropetovsk escaping with stolen steel and copperb ingots. In S55 the r...
Read moreTeam Bobyn are sad to announce the retirement of
Polikarp "the shock absorber" Zhivenkov. Another unsung hero of TB. Inspite of He looked ungamely on a bike due to his rather large size but he appearred to glide effortlessly on the tough cobblestones of the OCM cycle world size and brought much support to the leading captains of the cobblist outfits of TB - hence his nickname - the shock absorber.
Born in Dnipropetrovsk to a poor steel-mining family - his father worked in the steel mills while his mother steal.
Zhivenkov never really showed any inclination in cycling until around S50 in his youth - his mother came back with a racing bike "acquired" during Team Bobyn's promotional tour of Ukraine. He seemd naturally gifted - especially on the hard pitholed roads around the old decaying steelmills of Dnipropetovsk escaping with stolen steel and copperb ingots. In S55 the returning TB scouts and associated security rediscovered the stolen back and requested the bike back but given the impressive quality of Zhivenkov's ability - they decided to take the rider as well and he signed on pofessional terms in S56 at the age of 23.
It took a while for TB trainers to shape Zhivenkov's ability and for the first four seasons he played a predominately support role.
This all changed in S60 - Zhivenkov secured his first place at the Brooklyn and Manhattan and incredibly a place in his debut WT - a PB 8th at the Wexford-Dublin.This proved to be the highlight of his career as he payed a more and more supporting role to the cobblist supremo Rusanov.
Zhivenkov was happy with his role - at least he did not have to steal anything and he quickly settled back into the role of a cobblist domestique with the occassional WT ride. S64 he decided another place and he was also part of the Comrade Cup joint winning team in S65. His final success was a 7th at the Wonders of Petra Criterium.
A quiet and brooding character, perhaps more built for rugby as opposed for cycling but an important member of the squad. He will be missed but we are glad he will join the TB ranks as trainer.
CAREER SUMMARY
Races: 191 (191 for TB)
Wins: 0
Podiums: 0
Best Tour GC: N/A
Classics: N/A
S60 16th Budapest Meeting Point #48
Placements: 3
Highest ever Ranking: 2795th (S60)
International Caps: 10
Best Win (as a TB rider): N/A
Best Podium Performance: N/A
Highest ever Divisional Performance:
S62 (D3) 45th Kazakhstan Cobbles of Astana #55
Best Div 1 N/A
Best Div 1.1 N/A
Best Div 2 N/A
Best Div3 As above
Best Div4 S62 11th Denmark Skørping - Langå #53
Best Div5 S64 9th Haanja - Karula #53
Best Div6 S60 4th Brooklyn and Manhattan #5
Best Div7 S64 10th Brisbane Cobbles #47
Best Div8 N/A
Div9-Div 11 N/A
ND Performance: S56 50th Tour of Hokkaido (U23) #24
Ukraine Club Records: None
Best Performance S61 24th D7 Krasnoarmiis´k Cobblestone Race #46
Best International Performance:
S61 22nd WTB Lozuvatka - Kryvyi Rih (WT) #48
S60 8th WTC Wexford - Dublin (WT) #18
Best CON performance N/A
Comrade Cup Title x 1 (S65 (joint winners 1 caps)
U23 Honours - N/A
Tour Record (* Club Record)
LA COUPE (D4) Av. Pos. (S63) 53rd
EL COROZON (D5) Av. Pos. (S64) 77th
Ukraine