One day after his 38th birthday, the Kazakhstan rider Alexandre Vinokourov has made clear that he is prepared to continue his career into the 2012 season, saying that this would ensure that the Astana team should retain its UCI ProTeam licence.
Vinokourov had previously hinted at infighting within the squad, saying on August 21st that he didn’t feel that unnamed individuals had acted correctly.
“I'm still a rider. I have a contract in force,” he told l’Equipe then. “I am particularly disappointed by what has just taken place in secret at my expense.”
He has elaborated on that in today’s edition of the paper, saying that the team’s new management had effectively removed him from the team to accommodate Andrey Kashechkin, without realising how destructive that could be for Astana’s licence.
"Just before the Vuelta (August 20 to September 11), I learned, almost by accident, that I had been ruled out of the workforce of Astana, so it could be within the UCI rules and not to exceed limit of 28 runners by hiring Andrei Kashechkin,” he said. “It was as if they’d fired me because I had fallen during the Tour de France!
“I created the Astana team in 2006 with the government of my country and I feel that some had only one idea in mind after my fall on the Tour: get me out of the game… The new leaders have indeed forgotten an essential rule in the regulations: UCI points. In wanting to throw me out, they did not even realize that they penalized the team by depriving it of all my points, which are half of those in the squad. Without my points, the team must race as Continental Pro, because for now, nobody has been hired for 2012.”
Saying that he didn’t want the team to have a bad image such as it had in recent years [presumably prior to his comeback – ed.], he said that he wanted to fight to keep its place in the top level of the sport. “I simply want to save it. Leaders close to the government have assured me that a place was reserved for me as a manager [but] I could race in 2012 to help Astana stay in the World Tour.”
Vinokourov had originally indicated in July that he was done as a professional. He fractured his femur in a bad crash during the Tour de France and said that injury had brought his career to a premature end. Prior to that, he had intended to continue until the end of this season and had talked about remaining active as a rider until next year’s Olympic Games.
With his recovery going quicker than expected, he said in August that he could come back this season. That led to a problem with the team being over the UCI limit of 28 riders, although this was overcome when Astana has said that Kazakhstan rider Roman Kireyev had decided that he was retiring due to a back injury. Many felt the timing was very coincidental, but Kireyev has insisted that the reason was his own and that he wasn’t standing aside to let Vinokourov back on board.
Returning to racing:
Vinokourov took his first training spin on the road on Tuesday and now confirms he wants to resume competition. “To show that I am a fighter, I announced my return in the Tour of Lombardy,” he said, referring to the October 15th race. “I do not want to give the image of someone giving up.”
In talking about pinning on a number this season and also to continuing on until next year, Vinokourov is indicating that he is ready to resume the role as top gun in the squad. The team had thought that after he declared he was retiring that another could simply take his place, namely Andrey Kashechkin. He doesn’t believe that Kashechkin himself caused the leaders to try to get rid of him, months before his contract as a rider was officially due to end, but he indicates that he doesn’t believe the rider is ready to fill the gap created by his departure.
"Kashechkin is a representative of the Kazakh cycling. But the new leaders were a little hasty in announcing that he would finish in the top five of the Vuelta,” he said. Kashechkin disappointed in the race and ended up riding for Fredrik Kessiakoff instead, finishing back in 89th place. “They forgot that in cycling, it is not that easy to designate a leader,” said Vinokourov.
If he is to return to the team, he would have to be able to work alongside those who are currently running it. He doesn’t name the people who he feels effectively tried to dump him once he was injured, but it’s clear that he doesn’t believe he was treated correctly. “I had not had one visit from my new leaders during my convalescence, only my real friends were by my side,” he said.
Apart from those friends, he added that he also received many messages of support from fans. These will be delighted to hear that he could be back in action next season, battling riders in the peloton while also potentially taking on forces acting within his own team.