He calls it a misunderstanding. Andrei Tchmil unintentionally made the news last weekend after Johan Museeuw showed in a video that his good friend would go to war against the Russians. “I don’t want to be a target,” says the ex-rider at L’Equipe.
Andrei Tchmil has some things to set straight. From a video by Johan Museeuw that went viral on Sunday, the conclusion could be drawn that the former cyclist would go to war against the Russians.
“I don’t know whether I’ll be there tomorrow or the day after,” Museeuw quoted his bosom friend as saying.
At L’Equipe, Tchmil clears up some misunderstandings. “I told Johan that the situation in our region (Chisinau in Moldova, ed.) is difficult, but I will stay to keep my bicycle factory going. Last month we only sold four bicycles, but I have to pay my employees’ wages.”
Johan misunderstood what I told him in Italian.
Tchmil emphasizes that he never said he would go to the front. “Johan misunderstood what I told him in Italian. I am a peaceful person and still believe in a peaceful resolution of this conflict. It touches me personally because I have family and friends in Ukraine and Russia.”
“It puts me in a delicate situation. I don’t want to be a target, as I never took a position or announced that I would go to war. I made the decision to stay in Moldova to support my bicycle factory, not to go to war.”
