Tchmil was born in
Khabarovsk, Russia. His family moved to
Ukraine during the days of the Soviet Union. He started cycling and showed enough talent to be moved to a cycling school in
Moldova. The
glasnost in the Soviet Union allowed him to try a professional career with the Italian
Alfa Lum team in 1989. After the collapse of the Soviet Union he became a Ukrainian citizen, although he eventually moved to Belgium early in his professional career. ''"People are cynical when I talk about Belgium. They think I'm only Belgian on paper. That is not true. Yes, I was a Russian, even a proud one.... Now I am proud to be Belgian. The first thing I did was learn French. Now there are some books in my suitcase to learn Flemish. It's not easy,"'' Tchmil said in an interview with Cycle Sport. Tchmil rode the
Tour de France five times, but only finished twice and never won a stage. Tchmil was most famous as a classic cobbled race specialist, thriving in races such as
Tour of Flanders,
Gent–Wevelgem,
Omloop "Het Volk", and
Paris–Roubaix. His first
UCI Road World Cup win was in Paris–Roubaix in 1994. He also won the
Paris–Tours in 1997 (earning the
Ruban Jaune in so doing) and
Milan–San Remo in 1999. His last celebrated victory was in the Tour of Flanders in 2000 when he overpowered rival
Johan Museeuw in the finale. He was easily recognizable in the races, with his signature grimace, old-style helmet, and his powerful riding style. He won the UCI Road World Cup in 1999. Tchmil retired in 2002, after having been forced to end his spring
classics campaign due to a bad fall during the
Three Days of De Panne in which his thigh was crushed. == Post-cycling career ==