Jambaljamts Sainbayar: From braving Ulaanbaatar's freezing roads to making history for Mongolian cycling
The 27-year-old, accustomed to enduring winter training rides in temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius, recently signed with the Spanish team Burgos-BH, becoming Mongolia's first professional cyclist. And he has set his sights on Paris 2024 and participating in a Grand Tour...
Cycling Road
Before Jambaljamts Sainbayar, no road cyclist from Mongolia had ever entered the professional peloton
Ahead of the 2024 season, the 27-year-old national road champion from the remote Asian nation has signed with the Spanish UCI ProTeam Burgos-BH, realising his lifelong dream of becoming a professional rider.
“Exactly ten years ago, I gave an interview to a sports newspaper in Mongolia. The title was 'Jambaljamts Sainbayar: To become a pro cyclist in the future is the main goal for him', and that happened exactly ten years later,” he chuckled during an exclusive interview with Olympics.com in Madrid, Spain.
“That was always the goal to be a professional cyclist. I’m very happy to become a pro, and it’s an honour to be in a pro team.”
Jambaljamts Sainbayar: “I trained outside when it was -25 degrees Celsius”
Sainbayar was born in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. The country is the world's largest landlocked nation, and most of its territory is covered by grassy steppe.
'Jamba' or 'Elo', as Sainbayar was nicknamed by his friends, grew up with his mother and father in the Mongolian capital.
"I was a really active kid, and I tried cycling at age three," he said, remembering his childhood years.
However, Sainbayar first explored both football and skating, and he properly started with cycling at 15 when he joined a sports high school with the support of his parents: "They helped me and supported me a lot," he emphasises.
And since his beginnings in the sport, racing on a bike has always meant a lot to him.
“Cycling has always been in my heart, and I really love it. Since I was a junior, I spent a lot of time on a bike,” Sainbayar said.
“After school, I used to go straight away to training, and after training I practised on a mountain bike, doing some skill things. In my junior years, I was always on a bike training.”
Ulaanbaatar is known as the coldest capital city in the world with average yearly temperatures dropping below -30 degrees Celsius during winter. Training in such harsh conditions may not be the most pleasant experience.
“When I was a junior, I trained outside during the winter, when it was like -20, -25. In Ulaanbaatar, most of the year it’s windy, so I grew up riding in the echelons. Solo training [outdoor] is always a challenge.”
Asked about how he stayed warm in negative 25 degrees Celsius, the humble Mongolian said with a smile: “I put on two pants and two jackets. It’s never easy, no coffee rides!”
Jambaljamts Sainbayar: “In the future I will focus more on climbing”
Before joining the pro peloton, Jamba found his way through the ranks in the junior and amateur categories.
During his junior and U23 years, Sainbayar competed in numerous races in the People’s Republic of China and was eventually scouted by RTS, a continental team from Chinese Taipei, who signed him for the 2018 season.
Following a short spell at the Ferei Pro Cycling Team in 2019, he joined the Terengganu Cycling Team, a Malaysian continental team, before relocating to Spain this season.
Sainbayar is known as a versatile rider. He has clinched several stage wins in Asian races with his dynamic and punchy finish style. In 2021, he also claimed the overall victory in the Tour of Thailand.
Besides his national road race title, he also won the individual time trial national championship in 2022.
However, it was his ninth place in the general classification at the 2022 Tour de Langkawi that got him on the radar of his new team.
“I would describe myself as a GC rider that can climb and sprint from a selected group. I have a decent time trial too. In the past in Asia, I did everything. In the future I will focus more on climbing,” Sainbayar said.
Jambaljamts Sainbayar in third position at the 2024 Tour of Sharjah.
Jambaljamts Sainbayar on Paris 2024 and Grand Tour dreams
This summer at Paris 2024, Mongolia has been allocated one quota for the road cycling events in the French capital.
Sainbayar is set to represent his country, becoming the first Mongolian rider since 1996 to feature in road cycling at the Olympic Games.
“Two years ago, my federation started to focus on getting an Olympic spot. We really worked hard for it. Finally, we got one spot, and I qualified for it. I’m going for the road race and time trial.”
And after that he may make history again if his team is selected for La Vuelta a España. "The dream would be racing in the Grand Tours one day," Sainbayar concluded.
The Mongolian made his debut with his new Spanish team at the Tour of Sharjah, finishing fifth in the general classification as the highest-placed rider of the Burgos team. Sainbayar is currently competing in the UCI ProSeries' Tour of Oman from 10 to 14 February.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.