Alexander Vinokourov : biography

Alexander Nikolaevich Vinokourov, ( born 16 September 1973 in Beskol near Petropavl, Kazakhstan) is a former professional road bicycle racer and current general manager of UCI ProTeam . As a rider, his achievements include two bronze medals at the World Championships, four stage wins in the Tour de France, four in the Vuelta a España plus the overall title in 2006, two Liège–Bastogne–Liège monuments, one Amstel Gold Race, and most recently, the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics Men’s Road Race. Vinokourov is a past national champion of Kazakhstan, and a dual-medalist at the Summer Olympics.

Vinokourov began cycling in 1984 as an 11 year-old, competing within the former Soviet Union. He moved to France in 1997 to finish his amateur career, and then turned professional there in 1998. After almost a decade as a professional, Vinokourov was caught blood-doping during the 2007 Tour de France, which triggered the withdrawal of the entire Astana team from that year’s race. After a 2-year suspension from competition, he returned to cycling in August 2009, riding first for the national team of Kazakhstan and then for his beloved Astana. A serious crash during the 2011 Tour de France threatened to prematurely end Vinokourov’s career for a second time, but he announced he would continue for one more season in 2012 – with an eye towards competing in the Olympic Games in London. There, Vinokourov played the role of ultimate spoiler when he dramatically won the gold medal in the men’s road race after breaking-away in the closing miles with Colombian Rigoberto Urán.

Palmares

1994

• 1st
• 2nd
• 2nd

1998

• 1st 20px Overall, Four Days of Dunkirk
• 2nd Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers
• 1st 20px Overall, Tour de Picardie
  • 1st Stage 2a
• 1st 20px Overall, Circuit de Lorraine
  • 1st Stage 4
• 1st Stage 6, Tour de Pologne
• 2nd Overall, Vuelta a Murcia
• 2nd Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers

1999

• 1st 20px Overall, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
  • 1st Stage 2
• 1st 20px Overall, Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
  • 1st, Stage 5b
• 2nd Overall, Grand Prix du Midi Libre
  • 1st Stages 2 & 6
• 1st Stage 3, Tour du Limousin

2000

• 1st Stage 18, Vuelta a España
• 1st Stage 1 Team Time Trial, Tour de Suisse
• 2nd
• 3rd Overall, Critérium International

2001

• 1st 20px Overall, Deutschland Tour
  • 1st Stage 6
• 1st Stage 4, Tour de Suisse

2002

• 1st 20px Overall, Paris–Nice
  • 1st Stage 4
• 1st Stage 3, Tour de Suisse
• 1st
• 1st 20px Overall, Paris–Nice
  • 1st Stage 5
• 1st 20px Overall, Tour de Suisse
  • 1st, Stage 1
• 3rd Overall, Tour de France
  • 1st Stage 9
• 3rd Overall, Deutschland Tour

2004

• 1st Overall, Regio-Tour
  • 1st Stages 2 & 3
• 1st Stages 5 Paris–Nice
• 1st Stages 7 Paris–Nice
• 1st Stages 8 Paris–Nice
• 3rd
• 3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège

2005

• 1st Liège–Bastogne–Liège
• 1st
• 5th Overall, Tour de France
  • 1st Stages 11 & 21

2006

• 1st 20px Overall, Vuelta a España
  • 1st 20px Combination classification
  • 1st Stages 8, 9 & 20
• 1st Overall, Vuelta a Castilla y León
  • 1st Stage 5
• 3rd

2007

• 1st 20px Points classification, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
  • 1st Stages 3 & 7
• 3rd Overall, Tirreno–Adriatico

2009

• 1st Chrono des Nations
• 1st
• 2nd
• 1st Stage 3b, Tour de l’Ain