Vinokourov ends Dr Heinrich relationship
By Jean-François Quénet in Saint-Etienne, France One year ago at the Dauphiné, in the midst of...
By Jean-François Quénet in Saint-Etienne, France
One year ago at the Dauphiné, in the midst of controversies around his then directeur sportif Manolo Saiz implication in the Operación Puerto, Alexandre Vinokourov had been questioned about his advisor in terms of training and medicine. His answer was: "When I was with T-Mobile, I was working with Dr Lothar Heinrich. I know pretty much what to do now but if I have a doubt, I call Dr Lothar Heinrich again."
One year later, his statement has taken a different direction after Heinrich's admission of having contributed to a system of doping inside the Telekom team, where Vinokourov rode from 2000 through to the end of 2005. Asked about his adviser by Le Parisien-Aujourd'hui en France at this year's Dauphiné, the Kazak made the situation clear. "Our relationship is over," he stated. "I'm gone. Now I'm alone. I don't regret this collaboration in the past. Heinrich is a good person. But you can never know what people do in life."
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1