Alexandre Vinokourov will forever be a controversial figure in cycling. Without question, he's a holdover from a time in the sport when doping was absolutely the norm and not the exception. While we'll never know for sure, it certainly doesn't look like he dabbled either. Despite his checkered past, the Kazakhstani rider return in fine fashion at the end of the 2009 season, then enjoyed a sensational 2010 campaign highlighted by wins at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and yet another stage of the Tour de France.
Heading into the 2011 season, the winner of last year's Giro del Trentino said that this year would be his final as a professional cyclist. In an interview in L'Equipe that followed his receiving of the Sportsman of the Year Award at home in Kazakhstan, Vinokourov reiterates his conviction that this year will be his last.
"I have to stop at some point. I think I still had a great career. I regained my image, and that's what I was missing. I'm back, and I showed people I could still win. I had wanted to quit last year, but as I worked so hard to return, I told myself that I would still do one more year to get the icing on the cake," said the Kazakh team's captain in the interview transcribed by French cycling news source, Cyclism'Actu.
While Vinokourov was roundly vilified following his blood doping suspension, his faux-retirement, and round denials of doping, the 37 year old seems to have taken the new climate of cycling seriously. He returned to, as he says, 'regain his image,' and one can say that he has done just that, thankfully regaining his image as one of the most entertaining riders in cycling to watch, not the other one as a doper.
What will Vinokourov do in 2012?
This being the eternally aggressive Vinokourov, it doesn't seem that racing will ever be out of his system. So, while he says this year will be his final in the peloton, he opens the door a tiny crack for the possibility of returning in 2011 if everything is just right.
"If the Kazakh authorities ask me to do another year, we'll see about the conditions [of the deal]. But today, in my head, it has been decided."
If that doesn't work out, the two-time Liege-Bastogne-Liege winner plans on taking up a position within the team that he can more or less call his own, Astana. In typical Vino fashion, he doesn't so much wonder if it will be possible, as he says that it will happen, much like his controversial return to Astana in 2009.
"Astana needs a consultant like me. I have not discussed with the Kazakh government what I would do yet, but with everything I've done for Kazakhstan and the team, I think they'll give me a role."
When presented with the idea of taking up a position as a director sportif in the team that he now races for, Vinokourov isn't averse to the idea, but wonders if it's the right job for him.
"That would probably be a good experience, so why not? But I also like spending time looking for young talents, followed by training on the bike, not riding along in a car. I find it more tiring driving than riding my bike."
Life after Vinokourov
The idea of taking on a role of scouting out and developing young talent from Kazakhstan appears to be a role that Vinokourov relishes the idea of. This year he won't be able to do it, but he promises that the team is already looking for, well, the next Vinokourov.
"Today, we are looking for a Kazakh who could replace Vinokourov, even if it's not easy, it's also my job - to find a rider who can win the Tour. That's our goal."
With the improbable, but certainly not impossible, goal of molding Kazakhstan's first ever Tour de France winner on his to do list for the future, Vinokourov knows that he'll still need to bring in some big talent to continue to achieve big results throughout the season. The team isn't holding its breath on any riders from home winning the sport's biggest race at the moment, so they're investing in 24 year old Czech super talent, Roman Kreuziger. Looking toward the future, the former Vuelta a España winner isn't dreaming of second rate leaders in his team - he plops down the name of Philippe Gilbert as a possible signing for his team in the future, both to win races, but also to teach the team's riders from Kazakhstan how they too can win the world's biggest races.
"Philippe is my friend. We both live in Monaco. We go out and train together often. He's a very nice guy. For the Classics, he could be an example for riders like Maxim Iglinskiy, even if they are older than him. He can give extra motivation to them to win a Classic like Sanremo, Flanders, Amstel…"
On Contador and Ricco
Looking back at the year that was, outside of his own impressive achievements, the talk can never stray far from his Tour de France winning teammate, Alberto Contador. Vinokourov still confesses to surprise upon finding out the news, but says that he was supportive of Contador, even going so far as to make himself available to the three-time Grand Boucle winner if he needed any help with lawyers.
"It surprised me. I was a bit shocked, of course. I spoke with him afterwards and offered my assistance if necessary, in relation to lawyers. I told him that if he needed anything, I was there. I spent a lot of time with him since 2006, and although I don't know everything, I did not think he could do such a thing. We worked hard on the image of the team last year as well as the anti-doping program. The guys did their best for him to win the Tour, and it was unfortunate that they would have had to lose their bonuses."
While the rider who turned professional in 1998 deals diplomatically with the topic of his controversial ex-teammate, he saves no fury for cycling's most hated rider, Riccardo Ricco. The idea of Vinokourov lambasting another doper is a bit off putting, but if Vinokourov really has returned to the sport clean to finish out his career and take full, fair, clean advantage of his second life in cycling, it seems a fair criticism of a rider who got a second chance, but threw it all away...again.
"There are no words. It's a disaster for cycling. He returned after two years of suspension and began to regain his image in Italy, and still he did such a thing. I do not understand. There is no comment. It's stupid."
2011: The Ardennes and the Tour de France
Moving past the controversial topic of a former doper decrying other dopers, the real question stands: what is Vinokourov dreaming of in his final year?
"The Classics, as usual. Amstel, Fleche, and Liege. Along with the whole team, we would like to win one of the three. That would be good. Then the Tour. Last year, I felt I still had the legs, not to win, but to race for a stage."
Ultimately, the crowning achievement for Vinokourov would be the chance to wear the Maillot Jaune at the Tour de France, something that he has surprisingly never done before.
"The ideal would be to wear the yellow jersey at last."
Even at 37, it's a foolish person who doubts the capabilities of Alexandre Vinokourov. It will be interesting to see what he can manage in his (perhaps) final year of racing.