Media grills Vinokourov after Classic success
Source: Agencies |
April 27, 2010, Tuesday
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KAZAKHSTAN'S Alexandre Vinokourov's audible sigh of relief as he finished his winner's press conference at the Liege-Bastogne-Liege Classic in Liege, Belgium, on Sunday confirmed a rough ride from the media.
For almost 30 minutes the Astana rider faced a grilling over his two-year ban for blood doping, which ended last July, as well as questions on how he could still win a race as tough as Liege at the age of 36.
Five years after his first success in the 260km classic, the Kazakh shed his most tenacious opponent, Alexandre Kolobnev of Russia, 500 meters from the line to win by six seconds. Spain's Alejandro Valverde was third over a minute behind the winner.
More articulate than when he first won but standing alone behind a wooden desk as if to ward off attacks, Vinokourov insisted he had paid the required price for his blood doping offence.
"I've shown my young teammates today you can win without doping and with hard work alone you eventually win," Vinokourov said.
"If I'm winning so quickly after my comeback, it's because I'm a classy rider and I work hard ... seven hours a day training rides and up to 5,000 meters of climbing."
Asked why he still trained in Tenerife, Spain, where several controversial doctors also resided, Vinokourov responded sharply "I train where I want."
He added: "Tenerife is good because it's sunny, I'm away from my family and I don't have so many distractions and winning here today is like a great revenge for me."
In one of just two questions about the race, Vinokourov thanked his Astana teammate Alberto Contador, the double Tour de France winner, for helping him win.
"Alberto attacked close to the finish and then when he was brought back I could make another move. But if I've won today, it's not my victory or his, it's the team's victory."
Contador finished 10th and said he was delighted with Vinokourov's win. "It feels as good as if I'd won myself and rounds off a splendid first half of the season for Astana," the Spaniard, himself a winner of three stage races this year, said.
"If anybody had asked me if I would accept a series of results like this at the start of the season for a team basically starting from scratch, I'd have said yes straight away."
For almost 30 minutes the Astana rider faced a grilling over his two-year ban for blood doping, which ended last July, as well as questions on how he could still win a race as tough as Liege at the age of 36.
Five years after his first success in the 260km classic, the Kazakh shed his most tenacious opponent, Alexandre Kolobnev of Russia, 500 meters from the line to win by six seconds. Spain's Alejandro Valverde was third over a minute behind the winner.
More articulate than when he first won but standing alone behind a wooden desk as if to ward off attacks, Vinokourov insisted he had paid the required price for his blood doping offence.
"I've shown my young teammates today you can win without doping and with hard work alone you eventually win," Vinokourov said.
"If I'm winning so quickly after my comeback, it's because I'm a classy rider and I work hard ... seven hours a day training rides and up to 5,000 meters of climbing."
Asked why he still trained in Tenerife, Spain, where several controversial doctors also resided, Vinokourov responded sharply "I train where I want."
He added: "Tenerife is good because it's sunny, I'm away from my family and I don't have so many distractions and winning here today is like a great revenge for me."
In one of just two questions about the race, Vinokourov thanked his Astana teammate Alberto Contador, the double Tour de France winner, for helping him win.
"Alberto attacked close to the finish and then when he was brought back I could make another move. But if I've won today, it's not my victory or his, it's the team's victory."
Contador finished 10th and said he was delighted with Vinokourov's win. "It feels as good as if I'd won myself and rounds off a splendid first half of the season for Astana," the Spaniard, himself a winner of three stage races this year, said.
"If anybody had asked me if I would accept a series of results like this at the start of the season for a team basically starting from scratch, I'd have said yes straight away."
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