• E-mail
  • Save
7 Stories on Alexander Vinokourov
Search this topic

Time.com: Cyclist Detained for Doping in Race

French police detained Spanish cyclist Moises Duenas Nevado on Wednesday after he tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO during the Tour de France

Time.com: More Scandal at the Tour de France

Top riders depart the race and a sport struggles with its reputation

SI.com: Austin Murphy: Vinokourov's bust tragic as Tour tries to clean up

PAU, France -- No matter who wins this race, it seems destined to go down as the Tour dominated by talk of Alexandre Vinokourov's blood.

SI.com: Austin Murphy: Oops, Vinokourov not done yet

ALBI, France -- I was among the score or so of reporters skulking around the lobby of the Novotel in Montpellier on Friday, hoping extract a quote from embattled race leader Michael Rasmussen of Rabobank. (The crafty Dane gave us the dodge; officials of the Danish Cycling Union, apparently, can relate). Sharing the hotel with the Rabos was Team Astana. While we loitered on the lookout for Rasmussen, Alexandre Vinokourov emerged from the dining room. With a total of 30 stitches in his knees, he made his way across the lobby with the stiff-legged gait of a man with advanced arthritis. It was clear that the podium was beyond his reach.

SI.com: Austin Murphy: Barloworld surprises with second stage win

MONTPELLIER, France -- There is an unwritten rule at athletic contests in the States: no cheering in the press box. The same does not apply, apparently, to the occupants of L'Espace Presse -- basically a holding pen with two TV monitors just beyond the finish, where my ilk and I are herded in the waning moments of each stage.

SI.com: Austin Murphy: Vino, Kloeden heal up before Alps

Friday's flat 200-km Stage 6 through wine country came down to another riotous mass sprint taken, surprisingly, by Tom Boonen, a Belgian of Quickstep-Innergetic who much prefers to be escorted toward the finish with a more orderly lead-out than he was provided. But Boonen ham-and-egged it, Robbie McEwen-style, for his 10th win of the season, his first of this Tour. Say goodbye to the sprinters for a while. On Saturday the boys must get over a serrated colossus called the Col de la Colombiere. Boonen, Thor Hushovd and their ilk will be more concerned with making the time cut than winning the stage.

SI.com: Austin Murphy: Vino hopes crash doesn't kill hopes

We knew some of the flatlanders would be shed on Thursday's Stage 5, the Tour's first foray into mountainous country. More surprising was the fabric and epidermis shed by pre-race favorite Alexandre Vinokourov, who hit the deck hard 25 km from the finish of the rippling, 184-km run from Chablis to Autun. As a splintered field approached the finish line, there was drama at either end of the race. Out front, the dashing Filippo Pozzato of Team Liquigas shot up the left side of the road, barely managing to hold off Rabobank's Oscar Freire for the win. With that resolved, all eyes turned to the clock, to see how much time (and blood) Vinokourov had lost.

Advertisement
Quick Job Search :
keyword(s):
enter city: