Kalidurga
10-04-2008, 06:39 AM
From VeloNews.com: Guess who's coming to dinner? Vino wants to rejoin Astana (http://www.velonews.com/article/83999)
Disgraced Tour de France star Alexander Vinokourov has announced plans to return to professional cycling, with the Astana team of Lance Armstrong, according to reports in Belgium on Saturday.
...
Vinokourov believes he would manage to rejoin Astana, which since his ban has undergone a management overhaul with the arrival of Johan Bruyneel, the man who helped steer Armstrong to seven straight yellow jerseys.
"I think I would be able to return to Astana, the team I launched after Liberty Seguros folded," added Vinokourov, who according to Sporza is due to speak about the doping controversy which has surrounded him.
...
On Saturday several leading newspapers in Europe carried reports about Vinokourov's return, although Bruyneel, according to Dutch paper De Telegraaf, said he is "unaware" of the Kazakh's intentions.
However, if the Kazakh owners of the team sanction Vinokourov's return - Vinokourov personally knows the Kazakh Minister of Defense Danyal Akhmetov, who is also the president of the Kazakh cycling federation - to the team, Bruyneel could be in the privileged, but frustrating position of having four star riders on his payroll.
I rooted like crazy for Vino during the 2007 Tour before finding out about his blood doping. Now, though, I gotta say I'm surprised he can even get his butt on a bike saddle with balls like that :rolleyes: Talk about hubris!
Disgraced Tour de France star Alexander Vinokourov has announced plans to return to professional cycling, with the Astana team of Lance Armstrong, according to reports in Belgium on Saturday.
...
Vinokourov believes he would manage to rejoin Astana, which since his ban has undergone a management overhaul with the arrival of Johan Bruyneel, the man who helped steer Armstrong to seven straight yellow jerseys.
"I think I would be able to return to Astana, the team I launched after Liberty Seguros folded," added Vinokourov, who according to Sporza is due to speak about the doping controversy which has surrounded him.
...
On Saturday several leading newspapers in Europe carried reports about Vinokourov's return, although Bruyneel, according to Dutch paper De Telegraaf, said he is "unaware" of the Kazakh's intentions.
However, if the Kazakh owners of the team sanction Vinokourov's return - Vinokourov personally knows the Kazakh Minister of Defense Danyal Akhmetov, who is also the president of the Kazakh cycling federation - to the team, Bruyneel could be in the privileged, but frustrating position of having four star riders on his payroll.
I rooted like crazy for Vino during the 2007 Tour before finding out about his blood doping. Now, though, I gotta say I'm surprised he can even get his butt on a bike saddle with balls like that :rolleyes: Talk about hubris!