Alexandre Vinokourov is set to make a surprise return to racing in October’s Giro di Lombardia. It had been thought that the Kazakh had ridden his last professional race during last month’s Tour de France, when he crashed out on Stage 9, fracturing his femur.
The rider had always planned to retire at the end of this season and take up some kind of back-room role at Astana, although with a two-year doping ban on his record, new UCI rules mean he cannot take up a role as team manager or directeur sportif.
That Tour de France crash appeared to have brought Vinokourov's retirement forward, however, the Astana rider has set his sights on one last race after visiting his surgeon, Professor Yves Catonné, at the Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris at the weekend to check on the progress he has made since his accident.
"The exams revealed that I'm recovering very well from my injury after my crash in last Tour de France,” said Vinokourov in a statement published on the Astana website.
“The doctors told me that if I wish, I could start training in the coming days. So, if everything goes well, I may compete for Tour de Lombardie, which is the last race of the season and could be the last race to end my career.
“This would be also a last occasion for me to contribute to increase the UCI points of Pro Team Astana and for the Kazakh Federation, in anticipation of the selections for the Olympic Games," he added.
Vinokourov’s injuries were the worst sustained on a crash-strewn stage in which other riders including Jurgen Van Den Broeck also saw their Tour de France come to an end.
The day is also remembered for Europcar rider Thomas Voeckler taking the yellow jersey and for Team Sky’s Juan Antonio Flecha being sideswiped by a car belonging to France Télévisions, an incident that resulted in fellow escapee Johnny Hoogerland crashing into a barbed wire fence.
I live in Carmarthenshire (though not in Llangadog) and we've got the same issue - ever since the 20mph thing came in, a bunch of petuant children ...
Troll 7 normal posters 0
At least it was more than just a driving offence, but yep.
Campagnolo "hub cap" tools for Record-style hubs should be on the list. They're expensive and not something you need very often, but the...
Really sad for all the staff who have lost their jobs, especially if the above is true and minimum legal notice periods were not met etc. Like the...
Isn't it the end user that should be choosing? The developer is providing what is requested (presumably based on feedback, marketing dept and so on...
These things happen so often yet every single one of them still produces a sickening feeling when I read about it....
Winter sucking in air through the mouth, soon will breathe in the first bug, then trying to get enough air through the nose until winter comes...
Since pedestrians don't yet have to wear number plates perhaps I need to get some signs made up with his face on them and zip tie them to the lamp...
Yes. They don't change from year to year.