Alexandre Vinokourov

Alexandre Vinokourov (in Russian: АлександрНиколаевичВинокуров, born the September 16th 1973 in Bichkoul, not far from Petropavl ovsk) is a Kazakh cyclist of 1 m 77 per 68 kg. He lives with Monaco with his Svetlana wife and his three children. He makes his classes at the National school of the sports of Alma-ATA, with the Kazakhstan, where it is formed according to the methods of the Russian school. In March 1997, it integrates the amateur team of EC. the Saint-Etienne-Loire and becomes professional in 1998.

It was pointed out in the turns of France 2003 and 2005 as being one of the rare runners to attack Lance Armstrong.

Following a control anti doping (after its victory with the against-the-watch individual of Albi) which appeared positive, at the time of the Tour de France 2007, Alexandre Vinokourov as his team Astana withdraw competition. Following the positive test of the counter-evaluation, the team Astana announces the dismissal of Alexandre Vinokourov on Monday, July 30, 2007.

Professional biography

Professional cyclist since 1998, it begins his career in France with the team “Casino” in 1998, year when it appeared very early by gaining the 4 days of Dunkirk and confirms his statute of great talent by in particular gaining the Critérium of Dauphiné Libéré in 1999 (presented as that of the revival after the business Festina). He joined “Deutsche Telekom” in 2000, renamed team “T-Mobile” in 2004. Obtaining a money medal to the Olympic Games of Sydney in 2000, its beginnings with the German team do not enable him nevertheless to continue like one of the leaders of the team always dominated by Jan Ulrich.

He thus puts himself to the leader's service, in particular on the Tour de France. In 2002, it takes another dimension by gaining its first great classic. It gains Paris-Nice in March, then takes the orders of the Tour of Switzerland in June. Unfortunately, a fall the constrained one with the abandonment in the Swiss test and obliges it to declare fixed price for the Tour de France. Benefitting from the departure of Jan Ulrich following a business of doping, Vinokourov becomes the leader of the team cyclist T-Mobile in 2003. The Kazakh gains Paris-Nice, the Amstel Gold Race and the Tour of Switzerland, before marking of its print the Tour de France of the centenary. Winner with Gap, it finishes finally third of the Turn after being a long time remained with the neck and neck with Armstrong and Ulrich, become his rival.

He concentrates from now on on the test queen of cycling, which does not prevent it from gaining Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2005. Fixed price with the Turn 2004 due to wound, it is strongly affected by death in race of his/her friend and compatriot Andreï Kivilev. Transcended by this event, it animates the Tour de France 2005 by gaining two stages with Briançon and especially with Paris, where it succeeds in the exploit to surprise all the sprinters in the last kilometers. It finishes fifth with the general and obtains the title of the most combative cyclist. Its collaboration with Ulrich, increasingly difficult, pushes it to leave T-Mobile. In 2006, Alexandre Vinokourov joined the team cyclist Liberty Seguros.

Following the Business Puerto revealed by the Spanish police force in 2006 and implying its sport director and of many major runners, Vinokourov is private of Tour de France. The sponsor of its team (Liberty) withdraws itself and is replaced by a new Kazakh sponsor: Astana.

At three days of the departure of the Turn, the organizers announce the suspension of the team because of the businesses of doping with which the sport director would be mixed with the team Manolo Saiz. After having appealed, the Astana team obtains the right to run while putting forward the absence of valid evidence.

But the departure day before of the Turn, Spanish justice gives to UCI (international Union cyclist) and to the organization of the Tour de France a list containing all the names of the people frays to the Puerto business, where 5 runners of Astana engaged on the Lathe appear.

The runners quoted in this list not being able to be aligned on the starting line, Vinokourov has nothing any more but 3 fellow-members. However it is interdict to take the departure of the Turn with less than 6 runners, which excludes in fact the team of the test.

Its objective then becomes the Turn of Spain which it gains in front of Alejandro Valverde and its fellow-member Andrey Kashechkin. In small form during the first stages of mountain, Vino loses ground on Valverde, that only can then be able to worry its fellow-member Andrey Kashechkin and Carlos Sastre. But thanks to a return of form and to ceaseless attacks conducted in.liaison.with Kashechkin, it ends up making crack Valverde however exemplary, but too isolated in the last kilometers from the stages from mountain.

Business of doping

Suspicions weigh already on the runner since the revelation from the Puerto business which drew aside the sport director and five of the runners of the team of Vinokourov the day before the Tour de France 2006. Alexandre Vinokourov also admitted before the departure of the Tour de France 2007 consulting recently the sulfurous Doctor Ferrari.

The July 24th 2007, the sporting daily newspaper French the Team reveals that Vinokourov was controlled positive with the transfusions homologous saturdays July 21st at the conclusion of an individual against-the-watch with the Tour de France which it gained with Albi. Following this information, the team cyclist Astana, under the pressure of the organizers, decides to leave the Turn and to suspend Vinokourov. This one however denies to be doped and requires a counter-evaluation, which proves it-also positive. July 30th, the Astana team announces the dismissal of her runner. The business follows its course since the end of the Tour de France and in spite of the evidence, the runner clamp always its innocence and even intends to continue its career within the professional group: it would be involved besides on the roads of its native land, the kazakhstan.

Prize list

  • 1998

    • 1 stage of the Turn of Oise
    • final Classification of the Turn of Oise
    • 2nd stage of the Four days of Dunkirk
    • final Classification of the Four days of Dunkirk
    • 1 stage of the Circuit of the Mines
    • final Classification of the Circuit of the Mines
    • 1 stage of the Turn of Poland

  • 2004

    • 5th, 7th and 8th stages of Paris-Nice
    • 2nd and 3rd stages of the Regio-Turn
    • final Classification of the Regio-Turn
    • 3rd of the Championship of the world against-the-watch
    • 3rd of Liege-Bastogne-Liege

  • 2006

    • 8th, 9th and 20th stages of the Turn of Spain
    • final Classification of the Turn of Spain
    • 5th stage of the Turn of Castille and Leon
    • final Classification of the Turn of Castille and Leon
    • 3rd of the Championship of the world against-the-watch

  • 2007

    • 3rd and 7th stages of the Critérium of Dauphiné Libéré
    • 13th (against-the-watch individual with Albi, at the conclusion it is controlled positive) and 15th stages of the Tour de France
    • 3rd of the Tirreno-Adriatico

Results on the Tour de France

  • 1999 : 35e of general classification.
  • 2000 : 15th of general classification.
  • 2001 : 16th of general classification.
  • 2002 : absent for wound.
  • 2003 : 3rd of general classification, victorious of the 9th stage (Gap) and super-combative.
  • 2004 : no the participation for wound on the Turn of Switzerland.
  • 2005 : 5th of general classification, victorious of 11th (Briançon) and the 21e stage (Paris).
  • 2006 : absent because of the businesses of doping of a good number of the runners of its team. The majority of the team having been sanctioned (among them two runners bleached thereafter of which Alberto Contador), he remained only Alexandre Vinokourov, Andrey Kashechkin like two other runners, which prevented it from taking the departure of the Tour de France.
  • 2007 : leave the Turn after a positive control with the transfusions homologous after its victory in the against-the-watch individual with Albi.

Results on the Lathe of Spain

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