L-B-L: Vinokourov causes anti-climax

Of course, Alexandre Vinokourov sat out his ban for proven blooddoping in the Tour de France 2007 and people deserve a second chance. But I also had sympathy for the crowd at the finish in Liege, which was jeering loudly as the 36-year old Kazakh veteran approached the finish to take his second Liege-Bastogne-Liege trophy after 2005. It is hard to get excited about a rider who not only got caught, but whose entire professional career is overshadowed by suspicions of serious performance-enhancing drug use. Before 2007, Vinokourov was a member of the German T-Mobile team, in which systematic doping for its best riders was de rigueur. And before that time, he rode for Casino. A French team that rode from one victory to the next in 1997 but that later turned out to have dope distributors such as Rodolfo Massi in their ranks. Now he is riding for Astana, a team he basically created and which reputation he torpedoed himself with his and his compatriot's Kascheschkin's blood doping affairs three seasons ago.

There is no doubt that Alexandre Vinokourov is a natural cycling talent who has worked hard to stay at the top of the game for more than a decade, but his legacy simply is and will always be tainted. If he needed blood transfusions and other advanced stimulantia in order to win in the past, why would be just assume that - in the twlight of his career - he can win with mere orthodox means?

Yesterday in L-B-L, he timed his move well to sneak away from the top favourites Schleck, Gilbert and Valverde. Russian Alex Kolobnew, who has been strong in all hilly races recently, paid attention and went along. Together they made it to the finish with over a minute advantage, until Vinokourov proved to be the strongest in the final kilometre. Behind them, Gilbert gave it all on the Saint Nicolas climb, but it was too late. Alejandro Valverde still beat Gilbert for third place in their sprint.

After the race, Vinokourov spoke of "his revenge" and refused to talk about the 2007 case. He added he turned that page and that doping is 'bad' for sports.

Still, as such, the spring classics season came to an end with a bit of anti-climax. At the same time, cases like these are the reality of professional sports today. As our law says: everybody is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Yet that is also just what the law says.

Liege-Bastogne-Liege Top 10

1. Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ, Astana)
2. Alexandre Kolobnew (RUS, Katusha) at 6"
3. Alejandro Valverde (ESP, Caisse d' Epargne0 at 1'04"
4. Philippe Gilbert (BEL, Omega Pharma Lotto)
5. Cadel Evans (AUS, BMC Racing) at 1'07"
6. Andy Schleck (LUX, Saxo Bank)
7. Igor Anton (ESP, Euskaltel)
8. Chris Horner (USA, RadioShack)
9. Frank Schleck (LUX, Saxo Bank)
10.Alberto Contador (ESP, Astana)

Links

Video climb of La Roche aux Facons
Final Kilometres