Posted 08 December 2011 - 10:17
Just plain dopes:
A report by Swiss magazine L'Illustre has accused former Astana rider Alexandre Vinokourov of buying his 2010 Liège-Bastogne-Liège victory.
Vinokourov flatly denied the claim saying: "I never did that in my career - I always fought to win."
The article claims that Vinokourov allegedly paid eventual runner-up Alexandr Kolobnev (Katusha) 100,000 Euro to ensure his position in the run to the finish line. The pair led the race working together to hold off the pursuit by Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) and then-world champion Cadel Evans (BMC). An attack from Vinokourov within the final kilometre finally dropped Kolobnev in the uphill dash.
Speaking at the time, Kolobnev said it was a case of the stronger man winning.
"I couldn't follow him," Kolobnev said about Vinokourov's attack in the final kilometre. "We knew that if we would arrive together I could beat him. He was afraid of me but I was afraid of his attacks, too. When he had attacked earlier on the Côte de Saint-Nicolas I was already on my limit. Anyway, it's a nice podium with Vinokourov and Valverde there."
Citing an email exchange between the pair the day after the race, L'Illustre alleges that Kolobnev passed on account details for a bank located in the Swiss city of Locarno to which a payment was deposited.
Queried on the transaction, Vinokourov said there was nothing sinister in it.
"It's my private life," the Kazakhstani said before adding - "It's another story to blacken my name. I often loan money left and right."
Vinokourov’s win at the time was somewhat controversial, with pockets of the press suggesting that his was a remarkable comeback, following a two-year suspension for blood doping at the Tour de France in 2007. In retort, Vinokourov wrote an open letter saying:
"Ironically, my victory in Liège seems to revive old jealousies for which I am not responsible. The media comments contrast with the hundreds of congratulatory messages from fans that I keep getting on my website and my facebook page. I don’t understand this discrepancy.
"As if I had to be forbidden of success on my bike to leave everyone with a clear conscience. In which sport are we allowed to be at the start of a competition without the right to win."
Prior to the report in L'Illustre was published, Vinokourov launched an attack on what he views as the "gutter press" and claimed that his email account had been hacked – information which now appears to have stemmed from his interview with the Swiss magazine.
"I do not understand why some people are always looking to find some stories about me," Vinokourov said. "I am a cyclist, and there is no place in our sport for the gutter press. I don't ever allow myself to attack anyone personally. I wish to finish my career quietly even though obviously it bothers some people that I'm still on a bike."
The emails between Alexandr Kolobnev and Alexander Vinokourov following the 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege have been published in the Swiss magazine L'Illustre. Vinokourov has said he will take action against the magazine.
The Swiss magazine claims that Vinokourov paid Kolobnev 100,000 Euros to allow him to win the race. The duo were alone in an attack at the finish, and Kolobnev did not sprint.
Vinokourov reassured the Russian that “You have done everything properly, do not worry”, after Kolobnev expressed concerns that "my balls may be cut off" if it came out that he was receiving payment.
“You remember that, for me it was a great chance. I do not know if I was right to do what I did,” wrote Kolobnev shortly after the race.
According to the magazine, Kolobnev admits to having let him win, “not so much because of our agreement, but mostly because of my feelings towards you and towards your situation.
"Even my wife was not too uneasy by the fact that I was second, because you were the first,” he continued.
If he had been up against someone else, “I would have gone for the victory, glory and bonus (in my contract that I have for these classics). That day I felt stronger than ever. Now it only remains for me to wait patiently to see if all this was not vain. My only comfort is that you won and not one of the natives (Belgian riders, ed.)
“Here is a copy of all my bank information and clear it from your mail box, or my balls may be cut off.”
Vinokourov did not reply until nearly two weeks later, saying he was busy with family and preparations for the Giro. “You have done everything properly, do not worry. As you say, the Earth is round and God sees everything ... So, again thank you. You, this year you will win the championship finally, I believe. Do not worry about the agreement, I will do it.”
Kolobnev did not respond to the magazine's request for a comment, but they spoke to Vinokourov, who is attending a training camp in Spain with Team Astana. He flatly denied the charges, saying, “No, there was no cheating at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. In my career, I've never done that, I have always fought to win.”
He did speak with Kolobnev during the race, “but in a breakaway, it's normal, it is not forbidden, is it?”
When asked if he would confirm sending money to Kolobnev, he responded, “It's my private life, I am not talking with the police, it has nothing to do with it. This is another story to damage me. Thank God, I am still alive for the public, for the children, for my fans. I won because it was I who went the fastest.
“I often make payments left and right, sometimes I lend money, but I never offered to buy the win from Kolobnev.”
Pat McQuaid, president of the International Cycling Union, told the magazine that “Yes, there are rules about that. It is clear, if there is evidence, there could be penalties after an investigation on our part.”
He would not comment on this specific case and declined to read the documents involved. “It is not necessary, it must be given to our legal department. It is not for me to study it, it's not my role.”
UPDATE: In a statement released Wednesday by Team Astana, Vinokourov said that he would take legal action against L'Illustre. "I can’t accept that gossiping about me," he said. "Behind this case, there are certainly people who want my skin. It's weird that it happened few days after the announcement of my candidacy in the upcoming elections in my country.
"It is a violation of my privacy, how can we explain that emails arrive as if by chance on the desktop of a journalist without knowledge of their origin? My lawyers will also prosecute anyone who infringes on my integrity."