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Kazakhstan's Reaction to Alexander Vinokourov Scandal
Monday, July 30, 2007
EURASIA INSIGHT KAZAKHSTAN: QUESTIONS SURROUND TOUR DE FRANCE DOPING SCANDAL By Joanna Lillis 7/30/07 Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador may have cinched the 2007 Tour de France, but for Kazakhstan's media, the doping scandal surrounding Team Astana captain Alexander Vinokourov continues to linger on. While some have voiced conspiracy theories about alleged moves to rid the race of a strong team in favor of rivals, others see the action as regrettable, but justified. Sporting hero Vinokourov, who had been dogged by injury since falling early in the race, was removed from the competition on July 24 after two different types of red blood cells were found in his sample, suggesting that he had received a blood transfusion contrary to rules. Team Astana subsequently also withdrew from the competition. To defend his case, Vinokourov has hired American lawyer Maurice Suh, who is also handling 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis's challenge of a doping charge. In a statement released by Suh on July 28 and cited by wire agencies, the Kazakhstani cyclist asserted that "I have always raced clean" and cast aspersions on the laboratory's testing procedures. A backup sample, however, later confirmed the test results, French media and wire services reported on July 28. A two-year ban from competition and a fine equal to one year's salary could be the penalties handed down to Vinokourov if the test results stand. Kazakhstan's media has offered a mixed reaction to the scandal. The one thing they agreed on was that the events that removed pre-race favorite Vinokourov came as a bombshell. "It's simply a shock," the privately owned Kapital newspaper commented on July 26. "No one could believe this could happen to us. That the pride of Kazakhstan, silver Olympic medal winner, one of the country's best sportsmen for many years would be caught red-handed. But it has happened." As the story hit headlines at home and abroad, officials sought to limit the damage from the international PR fiasco. This is a further blow to the government's image following recent controversy over a legal amendment allowing President Nursultan Nazarbayev to stand for unlimited terms, and comes in the wake of long-running negative publicity attracted by the Borat film lampooning Kazakhstan. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive.] The national Cycling Federation condemned the team's decision to withdraw altogether from the race over the suspicions facing only one of its riders. "[T]he federation thinks that rapid-fire conclusions should not be drawn, and still less should final accusations be made against a racer or team," it said in a July 25 press release. Some newspapers have said that the test performed by France's government-owned Laboratoire National de Depistage du Dopage was specifically aimed at getting rid of the team. While Vinokourov was no longer in a position to win the race, some of his colleagues were, said the Komsomolskaya Pravda Kazakhstan tabloid. "By all appearances, this turn of events was not to someone's liking, and someone urgently needed to remove Astana from the competition," the paper continued. Khabar state TV also voiced suspicions about the timing of the drug test, accusing the Tour de France of double standards. "Local journalists were delighted about the heroic attack by the Kazakhstani cyclist and the Astana team, setting it up as an example. But that did not please everyone," it commented in its flagship news bulletin. "After his first victory in a time-trial, Vinokourov was given a drug test." Sporting officials attacked race organizers for what Cycling Federation Executive Director Aleksandr Antyshev described as their "biased attitude", and said jealousy of Astana's sporting prowess was behind the team's removal. The Cycling Federation's vice-president, Nikolai Proskurin, went further, hinting at racism and protesting over the team's treatment by French police. "Last year they did not want us to take part; the situation was brewing even before the race," he told Liter. "The French teams are quite weak, and along comes some Asian team and wins." Other commentators rejected conspiracy theories and pointed instead to Vinokourov's uneven performance in the race, which they said was sure to arouse suspicion. "How did it happen that the 33-year-old racer agreed to a blood transfusion?" asked Kapital. "After [a transfusion] a person feels a surge of strength. And indeed at the 13th stage Vino was unrecognizable. Two days later he was flying along the track like he did in his best years -- as if he didn't have 30 stitches in his bashed-up knees." The withdrawal of the Astana team also came as a blow to the government, which backed its establishment in 2006 under then Prime Minister Danial Akhmetov, a keen cyclist who is now defense minister as well as chairing the Cycling Federation. Underscoring the links between the authorities and the team, Vinokourov appears on election posters for the Nur Otan Party headed by Nazarbayev, which is expected to win a landslide in Kazakhstan's August 18 parliamentary elections. Akhmetov was at pains to dismiss suggestions that the doping scandal is a blow to Kazakhstan's international image. "Absolutely not," he told the Vremya tabloid, which splashed the story on its front page on July 26. "I don't think it will affect the state's image." People questioned in the streets of Almaty also doubted that the incident would affect the country's standing. "I don't think Kazakhstan's image will suffer," said an engineer who gave his name as Malik. "These things happen." However, not everyone agreed. Opposition leader Bolat Abilov accused the authorities of fouling up all initiatives it undertakes. "Whatever the authorities take on, it all ends in scandal - corruption or doping [scandal]," he said in remarks quoted by Vremya. "They have given our capital a bad name all over the world." Kapital predicted the demise of the government-backed club. "It is quite likely that after this scandal Astana will close down completely," it said. "At any rate the government of Kazakhstan, which is the club's founder, is hardly likely to be overjoyed about the image of its racers." Most commentators agreed that this marks the end of Vinokourov's career, but there was no sense of Schadenfreude. "We are incredibly sorry for Vinokourov," commented Kapital, who projected the 2007 Tour de France could be Vinokourov's last. "He was a hero from a fairytale . . .." |
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