Vinokourov positive for transfusion, Astana quits Tour

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The Tour de France was rocked by news that Astana’s battered team leader, Alexandre Vinokourov, tested positive for a homologous blood transfusion after Saturday’s time trial in Albi. L’Equipe reported on Tuesday afternoon that the Kazakh’s blood had shown evidence of a transfusion from another person with a compatible blood type in an analysis done in the Châtenay-Malabry laboratory. The positive test was later confirmed by the Astana team.

Upon receiving the news, the Astana team suspended Vinokourov and quit the Tour de France, according to a statement which read, “According to the ethical code of the Astana Cycling Team, Alexandre Vinokourov has been suspended of the team with immediate effect. The rider asked nevertheless [for] a B-analysis. Informed by the Astana management, the organisers of the Tour de France invited the team to withdraw, [and] was immediately accepted.”

Source: cyclingnews.com

Vinokourov, whose performance in Monday’s stage was feted in the French press with headlines such as the ‘Courage of ‘Vino”, had been criticised before the Tour by UCI president Pat McQuaid for his association with Italian sports doctor Michele Ferrari.

Vinokourov becomes the first cyclist to test positive for homologous blood doping – the injection of an other person’s red blood cells – since American Tyler Hamilton and Spaniard Santi Perez were found positive for the banned technique in 2004.

Source: velonews.com

I believe Tyler. And Vino. And fuck all.

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About big jonny

The man, the legend. The guy who started it all back in the Year of Our Lord Beer, 2000, with a couple of pages worth of idiotic ranting hardcoded on some random porn site that would host anything you uploaded, a book called HTML for Dummies (which was completely appropriate), a bad attitude (which hasn’t much changed), and a Dell desktop running Win95 with 64 mgs of ram and a six gig hard drive. Those were the days. Then he went to law school. Go figure. Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

33 Replies to “Vinokourov positive for transfusion, Astana quits Tour”

  1. Gee, shocker. I guess Vino got a bad batch for Sunday’s stage. Rasmussen skips controls, smuggles cow’s blood, and is a pillow biter. I will puke if he wins. Contador was named in Puerto, guess he will be the next Lance. Cadel brought his coach over from Mapei, hmmm…Museuew, Vandenbroucke, could go on, but do I need to? I used to brag that I was a cyclist, not I don’t say shit. I say snuff them all, let God sort ’em out.

  2. how’s everyone else been keeping up? travesty is really in the bullshit rose-tint applied by Versus, who are apparently watching a different race than the rest of us. no mention ever of any controversies. can’t wait to see how they spin this story – I’m sure they’re totally shocked. millar’s reaction is classic stuff.

  3. Versus is 100% unadulterated bool shyte. Even if Frankie is there.

    Bobke is great fun, but he knows more about the doping secrets of the peloton than almost any man alive. Yet, we hear nothing .. and it’s always “fun” (not) to hear him quickly move past these issues when they are present.

  4. To think I was seriously considering writing DC to say “hey, lay off the doping stories”. I feel like a jackass now .As far as Versus go and Frankie I have to say, cheers that he finally got himself a voice coach to take the edge off that shitty working class midwestern accent.Tour de fraaaaaance. I’m waiting for the day when Phil says “he’s doping like he’s never doped before…oh the blood in those viens.”
    Go Contador

  5. big jonny,
    i am hereby renouncing my [entirely] american status, and hereby make myself available to the republic of france, for adoption as a [co-]native son.
    i’ve never tested positive, have “never been to spain” [sing along with me], and i applied for a passport renewal over six months ago.
    i’m ready to race, frenchies!
    who cares that my racing age is 54–tell ’em it’s metric!

    –the mostly reverend

  6. “Millar broke down into tears when he was asked by British journalist Jeremy Whittle if he was all right, saying, “I just feel like crying right now.”

    Quote of the Tour…

  7. Fuck roadies. I said it before, and I’ll say it till I die; stick with singlespeeding, beer-drinking hell-raising MTB riders and you’ll never be disappointed.

    Mostly because you learn to have low expectaions and ‘Heroes’ are guys who drink 3 litres and still find the line.

  8. Is anyone surprised? Ferrari, Liberty, “the men in black”, God knows what else.

    You get the feeling everyone who’s in the mix must be at it, just to compete.

    It’ll get worse before it gets better, the question is will the sport be dead by the time it comes out of this?

  9. $10 says something is going to happen during stage 16 tomorrow, like a disgruntled fan doing a Terry Tate on Rasmussen.

    Somebody’s going to take matters into their own hands.

    You read it hear first.

  10. NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, cyclists, runners, jumpers, fuckers… they’re all doing it. Why surprised? Any top athlete who stands to make shitloads of money from doing a bit of excercise has some corrupt manager, sponsor, or marketing team trying to stick a syringe in their arm. I don’t blame the athletes necessarily, I blame the whole current system and folks fucked-up priorities.
    Amen bikepunk…

  11. Fuck it. I sat here and stewed about this for 2 hours. Two things come to mind. First, the recent quote from the ex-Telekom rider who said it wasn’t a question of doping but of how not to do it badly. Second, the picture from the 1998 Tour where someone painted the road to read “Tous Dope.” I think I’m done watching this one.

  12. All this and STILL no reaction in the press to the most obvious fact and subsequent questions: Vino + Ferarri = Dope. Lance + Ferarri = ???. Levi + Ferarri = ???

  13. damnit vino. I hope the Spurs fans I ragged on yesterday don’t hear about this shit.

  14. Two years suspension & loss of a years salary ???
    No way ! New policy.
    Now you ride up Mont Ventoux, which is lined w/ your old fans.
    You stop at the Tommy Simpson Memorial, get on you knees in the dirt & WE SHOOT YOU IN THE BACK OF THE FUCKIN’ HEAD. Case closed, one less cheater.
    Hey, you’re killing the sport, so fair’s fair, the sport kills you.
    Bitter ? Nah, just being practical.

  15. Let’s not forget Floyd + Ferrari = ???

    If you have half an eye watching the sport in the last few years you had to see this coming. Disco’ll get theirs, it’s only a matter of time. At the very least we’re seeing riders settling back into their roles, climbers are climbers and TT guys can’t accelerate to save their lives. But Rasmoosen’s TT was a little much. Even if it was hilly. Shit’s still going on, but it’s not like in the heyday that was 19XX-2006. All you Dick Pound haters can shove it too — he’s the only one telling it like it is. Dopers shouldn’t have rights; he’s never publicly accused someone who was clean to my knowledge, as he says, we’re dealing with “hypocrisy beyond belief”. Doesn’t even begin to describe it.

  16. This will eventually correct itself – The loss of sponsors, salaries, public popularity and support will regenerate cycling back into a gentlemens’ sport. No more lab monkeys, only those that love to race cleanly (cannot afford drugs anymore). We will be treated to future tours with self-supported riders fixing their own bikes, stopping at springs to fill water bottles and cigarette breaks at the tops of climbs. Of course, like days of old, we’ll have to subscribe to L’equipe or go watch it ourselves, because VS or any TV coverage will be lost, unless it becomes a reality show to include scantilly clad euro bike babes like the one’s that have just lost their jobs presenting the jerseys.

  17. Hey M in SC,

    So was Jerome Chiotti…They used to clown Rasmussen at MTB races asking him if he would prefer a smoother course and skinnier tires. He was notorious for being a little bitch about the race courses.. not much has changed, he is still a dick smuggler.

  18. A friend at work said we should do like mens magazines and have two different classes of racing: Dopers (Playboy, silicon, surgery, etc.) and Naturals (Perfect 10, no implants, etc.). Of course that would require a hell of a lot more testing, and imagine the penalties if you’re caught not doping!

  19. Shit…all you guys have made my otherwise pissy day better! Some of the comments are just wicked!! I like John’s the best: “Hey, at least he wasn’t doing that freaky cow shit……..”

    On that note…anyone else notice that Cyclingnews.com isn’t saying shit about Rasmooosen’s attempt at freaky cow shit smuggling? What the hell is up with that? Part of their new sell-out program? Don’t report on things other media sources bring to light? And…Velonews-the last place I usually go-has gotten way better. Cyclingnews has definitely dropped a couple of notches since selling out.

  20. hey Barry Bonds is still trying to hit three homers as far as i know so he can break Hank Aarons record. fuck he is still swinging the bat! at least cycling is sending people home.
    what you are seeing is pro sports but this is one which is compelled to clean its act up. the really depressing thing is we are seeing signs that this is an addiction almost like crakc or something.
    yeah crack. when you have everything to lose and you know they are on to you, you just can’t deny yourself that feeling of being powerful. but it looks like some of the baboons are taking heed…valverde? Hincapie? where are the rest of the leg breakers from years past?
    rasmussen will get his. i mean that trail is sticky and long. there will be a couple of other trek family riders implicated and we will get to spend the year listening to the little faggot proclaim his innocence. at least chiotti had some sort of conscious.
    i think the fans on the side of the road should start taking the law into their own hands….

  21. Bikepunk…We should definetly take a page from Mtn. Biking…Rasmussen, The Belgian Bicept, Roland Green, Cadel, Paula Pezzo…Perhaps booze and hellraising was just a “gateway” to blood doping!!!! Thank christ cycling is a PARTICIPATION sport….

  22. At least no cyclists were indicted for breading fighting dogs, then electrocuting/drowning them when they loose. I’d still rather watch the Tour than those good ole American sports that are full of non-positive rednecks (that are never tested, yet reach 350 pounds in high school) and homies from the ghet-to that are one step from prison…or stardom in the NBA/NFL.

    I’m still getting up early tomorrow to watch the attacks on the Col D’Aubisque.

    Mainstream American sports are no better. They just don’t care and nobody talks about it. Go Barry!! Fucking cheater.

  23. Pingback: RocBike.com » Links Of The Day: 24 July 2007

  24. ‘Phil Liggett: “What we’re seeing here is a drug free peleton…”

    what a fucking moron…’

    At least he didn’t compromise his credibility as a journalist with that statement…….