Unpopular win

Alexander Vinokourov used to be a popular rider because he likes to throw caution to wind during races. That’s why win or lose, his feistiness on the bike endeared him to the fans and the media. In fact, the press even gave him nickname, “Vino”.

Vino was one of the many products of the state-run sports school in the then USSR in the republic (now country) of Kazakhstan in the 1980s that reaped the financial windfall when Michkael Gorbachev opened the doors of the USSR to the West. He won lots of races notably the Deutschland Tour, Amstel Gold, Paris-Nice and probably his biggest, Leige-Bastogne-Liege in 2005. He signed for TELEKOM for five years and rode a sometimes confusing, supporting role in Jan Ullrich’s attempt to wrest the yellow jersey from Lance Armstrong. When he stood on the podium of the 2003 TdF, he thought he could win it all.

In 2006, he was able to convince the president of his country, an avid cycling fan, to get together some of the biggest companies in Kazakhstan and support his bid to win the 2007 TdF. Kazakhstan was enjoying the oil boom at that time and a team, named after the country’s capital, ASTANA, was born.

But during the 2007 TdF, he tested positive for blood doping and was banned by the UCI for 2 years. He would deny taking PED’s. Ridiculously, the Kazakh federation sided with him.

When his ban was over, he went back to his team, a team he said was “his baby”. But with a new structure and Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador as the new stars, it was hard fitting in. But it was obvious that he still had a lot left in the tank, winning 3 races as an independent rider last year.

So when Armstrong left ASTANA, that left a door open for Vino and take over. Contador, who wanted no part of Vino and the team, wanted to leave but with little financial options left, decided to stick with ASTANA.

Entering 2010, Vino was the elephant in the room. While he was legally free to race again, everybody, from the UCI to ASO (TdF organizer), wished that he’d just go away. Normally, no top team would even dare to sign him for ethical reasons but because of his unique relationship with ASTANA. He didn’t talk like he was guilty and in fact, he didn’t even showed remorse. He even blamed the press for what happened.

Two Sundays, he won a “monument”, L-B-L, the oldest bicycle race in the world, for the second time. But instead of cheers, he was booed on the line. The booing was essentially an angry question of how a rider, who used to win aided with PED’s, can win riding “clean”. The question wasn’t directed only to Vino but also the UCI, WADA and all the anti-drug crusaders in cycling. How can this happen?

David Millar, Ivan Basso, Floyd Landis, Ricarrdo Ricco - are just a few banned riders who are currently back after a 2-year ban, yet they are just a shell of their former selves and all have never won anything substantial.

The best, or maybe the worst, depending on whose fence you are sitting, is yet to come. Vino will be riding the Giro d’Italia later this month. With his current form, he is a favorite to win the second biggest stage race in the world. What if he does?

I’m sure that the UCI and all the anti-drug crusaders are banging their heads on the wall on. It’s also interesting if ASO, the TdF organizers, would allow Vino (or maybe ASTANA), a spot on the Grand Boucle this July. Stay tuned! – THE FREEMAN