Over two years after the Olympic road race in Beijing, Alexandr Kolobnev has said that he is lukewarm about the thoughts of finally receiving the bronze medal due to him. He finished fourth in the race, but the CERA-positive and subsequent disqualification of Davide Rebellin moved him up a place, and onto the podium.
Three days ago, IOC president Jacques Rogge gave the medal to Alexander Zhukov, the chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee. Kolobnev will soon receive the medal in a ceremony in Moscow, but says that too much time has passed for him to take any great satisfaction from it.
“If it was given to me ten days after the announce of the positive control of Rebellin or after his disqualification, then we could talk about some emotions. But a year and a half afterwards, this medal has lost its importance,” he told the Russian site Allsportinfos.
In fact, he initially indicated that he might not even attend the ceremony to award it to him. “I am already preparing for next season. From December 1st, I will begin intensive training. I do not know if I will find time to participate in such an event.”
Kolobnev’s return to training has since been delayed. Two days ago he revealed that he had suffered a fracture. “During training set in gym on Thursday I had an accident,” he said on Twitter. “Confirmed: toe falange of left foot is broken.” It remains to be seen if he will now use the time to receive his medal.
Kolobnev is yet to take a major one day race, but his history in the top events marks him out as one of the most dangerous of the dark horses. He finished second in the 2007 and 2009 world road race championships, and was also runner-up in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The Team Katusha rider will be determined to try to step up another level in 2011.
Meanwhile Rebellin is preparing for his return to the sport. His ban is due to end on April 27th. “I have several contacts, but the proposals that interest me most are two,” he told Il Giornale di Vicenza recently. “I’ll decide by mid-December. I want to return with a team that allows me to participate in the biggest races, the Classics first, and to earn the Azzura jersey [Italian team] in the next championships.”