Vinokourov may challenge Contador’s leadership
Team Astana cyclist and three-time Tour de France stage winner Alexandre Vinokourov failed to take his favoured stage win in the second stage of the Tour.
The Kazakh contender managed to finish tenth in the third stage and earn an overall position of eight. He rides for Team Astana, led by last year Tour victor Alberto Contador, which maintains a fourth place in the Team Classification.
“On July 6 our president Nazarbayev celebrates his 70th birthday,” Vinokourov said to l’Equipe, of the third stage, “A stage victory in the Tour would be a nice gift; I would enjoy the symbolism.”
“I dream of a stage win, and I know the course in the Ardennes well; I have celebrated success there.”
Vinokourov won the Liège-Bastogne-Liège race in the Ardennes for the second time this year, replicating his first in 2005. The steep hills of the region suit the rider’s aggressive style and he was one of the favourites to take the stage.
He wanted to win the second stage, which passed through the hilly Ardennes, for more than personal glory. Team Astana, named after the capital of Kazakhstan, is sponsored by a union of state-owned Kazakh businesses. Nazarbayev, the country’s president, is effectively a sponsor of the team, and Vinokourov is one of Kazakhstan’s highest profile sportsmen.
He arrived at the final kilometer with a chase group containing Bradley Wiggins and his team leader Alberto Contador. The Kazakh served Contador with a brutal pace, keeping him within reach of the general classification, but was driving the pace at the front in the final meters, which effectively won a few seconds for Wiggins. While the Spaniard said that his team had been "extraordinary" and that Vinokourov had been "impressive," nothing was said in explanation of his teammate’s solo run.
Perhaps it was an isolated incident, but Vinokourov could potentially put Contador’s chances in jeopardy. The Kazakh, considered a strong contender for the Tour podium before being caught blood-doping in 2007, has insisted that he’ll be working hard in support of Contador.
Contador, when asked if he was concerned that the former Astana team leader would be a potential threat to his leadership after his returned to the team from his blood-doping suspension, replied that he had no doubts Vinokourov would support him and that he trusted him completely.
"There were hard negotiations as there were some problems between Johan Bruyneel and Vinokourov at the beginning of the Tour de France," said team spokesperson Philippe Maertens. "It took awhile [to reach an agreement] but, of course, the sponsors want Vino on the team. He created the team."
Vinokourov became an athlete in 1986, at 13-years-old, when he studied at the sports school in Almaty. Vinokourov trained at the school, which was based on those in the Soviet Union, for five years, training to compete with the Soviet national team.
"Vino has won the Vuelta, but nobody knows how good he is. It's very difficult to say. It's like Lance Armstrong at his first race [after comeback from retirement] in the Tour Down Under. It was his first race in three years and it's not so easy to come back after time off."
Vinokourov was punished with a year-long ban during the Tour de France in 2007, and this prompted the 36-year-old cyclist to retire. He announced his return in September 2008, and is now riding professionally again. Upon returning to Team Astana, he promptly took victory in the 2010 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, his eighth career win.
"It is magnificent. It is a revenge. I dreamed of this," he said. "I have returned stronger than before and I've shown everybody that 'Vino' is back."
Tags: