Alexander Vinokourov

Alexander Nikolaevich Vinokourov (Russian Александр Николаевич Винокуров, often after the French Alexandre Vinokourov transcription, born September 16, 1973 at village Bischkul at Petropavlovsk, Kazakh SSR ) is a former Kazakh cyclist of Russian descent. His greatest achievement was the Olympic gold medal in the road race single 2012 in London. Immediately thereafter, he declared the end of his sporting career and was manager of the Astana Pro Team.

Career

1998-2002

Vinokourov was 1998 professional cyclist with the French cycling team casino in. In the same year, among others, the overall winner of the Four Days of Dunkirk. After a successful 1999 season - Vinokourov won, among others, the difficult stage race Dauphiné Libéré - he moved to the German team Telekom. At the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000, he finished second behind Jan Ullrich in the road race. In the 2001 season he won the Tour of Germany.

In 2002 Vinokourov won Paris-Nice. In the Tour de Suisse 2002, he won the stage to Samnaun. .

2003

In March, he again won in dramatic circumstances Paris - Nice. He dedicated his win to his countryman and friend Andrei Kiwiljow who was killed in the same race. In May, he won the World Cup cycling classic Amstel Gold Race and in June the prestigious Tour de Suisse. He crowned this performance in July with the third place at the Tour de France, a stage win and the award for most aggressive rider.

2004-2005

Vinokourov he crashed when driven to prepare for the Tour de Suisse and had to cancel the Tour de France. Only in the fall of Kazakh came back in shape, won the second-class German Regio Tour and won bronze in the time trial of the road bike World Cup.

In April 2005 he won the major cycling classic Liège -Bastogne -Liège, on 26 June, he was Kazakh champion. At the Tour de France on July 13, 2005, he won the eleventh stage of the Tour de France 2005 from Courchevel to Briancon and the final stage to Paris. There he was able to finish an eleven- year-long series of sprint victories on the Avenue des Champs- Élysées by an attack on the last lap. In the overall classification, he finished fifth, but moved by the disqualification of Jan Ullrich in fourth place before. In this year he was " precious helper " by Jan Ullrich.

During the Tour de France, Vinokourov announced that he will leave his team racing team T -Mobile. With his new team Liberty Seguros - Würth he hoped that in the years that followed a victory at the Tour de France.

2006

In May 2006, the team was, however, involved in the doping scandal Fuentes. The main sponsor Liberty Seguros immediately aborted his commitment and the exclusion from the Tour de France threatened. Vinokourov then took the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Contact and reached that a consortium of five business enterprises new main sponsor is. Until a week before the tour got the team that now runs under the name of " Astana - Würth " green light from world governing body UCI. A few days later, the tour line called on the team due to the involvement in the doping scandal on the voluntary athlete withdraws, but they refused and the tour management called before the International Court of Sport, but could not enforce an outreach of Astana for lack of evidence.

One day before the tour was by the Spanish police a list of all suspects published in the doping scandal, which included also five of nine riders of the Tour squad from Astana. The athletic director of all teams agreed that all drivers are excluded on the doping list of the tour and no replacement driver may be re-nominated. Thus, the Tour of Astana squad consisted of only four riders and the team was not so entitled to start because you need at least six drivers.

Vinokourov then wanted to take together with the Kazakh consortium Astana, the operating company " Active Bay ", which operates the team " Astana ", from the previous owner Pablo Anton and Manolo Saiz. It should have been already held talks. As a team manager from 2007, he wanted to win the former Vuelta winner Tony Rominger and had already brought the former team manager of T-Mobile, Walter Godefroot as advisor to the sporting line into the team. Alexander Vinokourov even then wanted to get into the team as athletic director in 2008.

Winokurows first start after the exclusion of the Tour de France was in the Tour of Germany 2006. During the Vuelta a España he won with a successful breakaway shortly before the finish the 8th stage of Ponferrada to Lugo.

Already on the 7th stage, a mountain-top finish in Alto de El Morredero, he had made a breakaway 1,500 m before the finish, however, had been made ​​by Alejandro Valverde and ultimately finished only sixth place. After he had despite stage victory won only eight seconds behind the overall leader Valverde in the time trial stage 9 and an attempted attack on the 16th stage of the Calar Alto Observatory of Valverde could be averted, succeeded Vinokourov on the penultimate mountain stage the next day, Valverde further nine seconds to dissociate and to take the lead in the overall standings. On the following stage 18, the last mountain stage, he was able to extend his lead to 52 seconds. On the next day he won on his 33rd birthday the final time trial and secured the overall victory.

In the streets Cup Vinokourov won his second bronze medal at a World Championship in the time trial with the third place in the individual time trial.

In October Vinokourov was honored in Kazakhstan for his contributions to the sport of cycling. Prime Minister Akhmetov Danijal handed Vinokourov became the first athlete ever to Order "For Service to the Fatherland."

2007, and interim withdrawal

Before the start of the Tour de France, Vinokourov was considered by many experts as big favorites to win this cruise. However, due to a fall during the 5th stage, he could not initially meet these expectations. At the end of the second tour week he had, originally made ​​in the 13th stage, the first individual time trial, the fastest time, but it has been demonstrated homologous blood doping during routine doping test of the winner, which meant that the victory of Cadel Evans was awarded. After he had broken on the first stage in the Pyrenees and had lost almost half an hour to the leader Michael Rasmussen in the overall standings, he started on the 15th stage a breakaway in a group of ten riders. Gradually Vinokourov could be solved by his peers and reached the first driver to the destination. Since the carried out after this stage drug test was positive, was by the UCI, however, the original second this stage, Kim Kirchen, subsequently declared the winner.

Vinokourov was a long time in spite of many rumors about him and his team Liberty Seguros and Astana team no doping be detected. However, it was announced on 24 July 2007 that he had tested positive in the victory in the time trial in stage 13, and three days later on the 15th stage of the Tour de France for blood doping. This was not often mentioned in the doping scandal Fuentes autologous blood doping, but external to blood doping, which also Tyler Hamilton was transferred. Even if Vinokourov denies any involvement in the doping scandal, to date ("This is not my kind bike to ride " ), his Astana team suspended him first and ended, after the announcement of the result of the B sample, the contractual relationships. The detected with Vinokourov in the A and B Sample homologous blood doping is on the list of prohibited methods of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti -Doping Agency (WADA ). When On 7 December 2007 Alexander Winokourow announced his retirement from cycling. After he was blocked by the doping incidents at the Tour de France for a year, he responded in a press conference in the Kazakh Almaty embittered with the withdrawal from the sport of cycling.

Comeback 2009

At a press conference on 24 July 2009 Vinokourov explained his comeback. He said that he would contest the Vuelta a España ( August 29-September 20 ), also its start at the road World Championships in Mendrisio ( 23 to 27 September ) he had already scheduled. On August 4, he denied that the criterion in the southern French Castillon- la -Bataille in his first race since his tour - exclusion on 24 July 2007 as a member of a Kazakh national team, he participated in the four-day Tour de l' Ain ( 9. - August 12 / Kat. 2.1) in France in part. The third stage, an individual time trial of the Tour, he won and thus secured his first victory after his comeback.

2010-2012

On April 25, 2010 Vinokourov won the Liège -Bastogne- Liege classic. The accused was subsequently to have purchased the victory from second placed Alexander Kolobnev, with whom he had run away together for € 150,000. As evidence should impersonated emails and remittances serve.

At the Tour de France 2010, he belonged to during the 12th stage of a 18- man breakaway group which then shrank to four drivers. Vinokourov was until shortly before the finish of the Leading. However, he was caught two kilometers from the finish of his teammate Alberto Contador and was only third. A day later, he went on the last climb which the riders and was able to save 13 seconds first to the finish of the 13th stage.

Vinokourov broke his thigh and was forced at a heavy fall to end the tour early on the 9th stage of the Tour de France 2011. Then he declared on July 17, his departure from active cycling.

On September 22, 2011 Vinokourov revised his statements and declared his international retirement. First, a race at the Chrono des Nations was only planned as the last race, but also went in 2012 for his team Astana at the start.

July 28, 2012 Vinokourov won the gold medal in the road race of the 30th Summer Olympic Games in London and declared directly after his resignation. He was general manager of the Connect Pro Team Astana.

Private

Vinokourov has with his wife Svetlana, a daughter and two sons.

Trivia

After his stage win in the Tour de Suisse 2002 in Samnaun a hitherto nameless mountain was named in his honor after Vinokourov and now bears the name " Piz Vinokourov ".

Palmarčs

1998

• Four Days of Dunkirk
• Cicuit de Lorraine and a stage
• A stage of Tour de Pologne
• Tour de Picardie and a stage

1999

• Valencia Tour
• Dauphiné Libéré

2000

• Olympic Summer Games 2000 road race
• A stage in the Vuelta a España

2001

• Germany Tour

2002

• Paris-Nice

2003

• Paris-Nice
• Amstel Gold Race
• Tour de Suisse
• Most Combative driver and a Tour de France

2004

• Road Cycling Championships time trial
• Three stages of Paris-Nice

2005

• Liege -Bastogne- Liege
• Kazakh champion road race
• Two stages of the Tour de France

2006

• Vuelta a Castilla y León and a stage
• Vuelta a España and combined score and three stages
• Road Cycling Championships in the time trial

2007

• Two stages Dauphiné Libéré

2009

• A stage Tour de l' Ain
• Asian champions - Individual Time Trial
• Chrono des Nations

2010

• Giro del Trentino and a stage
• Liege -Bastogne- Liege
• A stage of the Tour de France

2011

• A stage Basque Country Tour
• A stage of Tour de Romandie

2012

• Summer Olympic Games 2012 road race