Alexander Vinokourov - 2009 Return

2009 Return

Vinokourov, banned for a year after doping at the 2007 Tour de France, told the Belgian TV program Sporza that he wanted to race again in 2009. He said:

"I love cycling. I want to come back because I didn't want to end my career in this way. I feel as if I can win once again the big races."

The UCI then renewed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, asking it to overturn the one-year suspension by the Kazakh federation and to impose a standard two-year ban. This appeal, originally filed in 2007, was dropped when Vinokourov said he was retiring. The case was retabled and the CAS ruled the ban would expire on 24 July 2009.

Vinokourov made his comeback in Tour de l'Ain in August 2009, riding for Kazakhstan. In the third stage, a time trial over 8.6 km, he won his first race after his ban. Vinokourov re-joined Astana on 24 August 2009 and was named for the 2009 Vuelta a España.