麻豆传媒

Skip to main content

Vinokourov forced out at Astana before Tour de France start

Alexandre Vinokourov (right) of Kazakstan dives into a corner on Box Hill on his way to winning the Men's Olympic Cyclirng Road Race in London on Saturday July 28, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn 
Alexandre Vinokourov (right) of Kazakstan dives into a corner on Box Hill on his way to winning the Men's Olympic Cyclirng Road Race in London on Saturday July 28, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Share
BREST, France -

Alexandre Vinokourov was relieved of his managerial duties as team principal of Astana-Premier Tech on Thursday just two days before the start of the Tour de France.

The team said in a statement that the former Olympic road champion will step down following a decision from the board of directors and will move to another role.

The team did not specify the reason for his removal.

Giuseppe Martinelli and Steve Bauer will take over Vinokourov's responsibilities 鈥渇or the foreseeable future,鈥 the team said.

Vinokourov won the 2006 Spanish Vuelta and four individual stages at the Tour de France between 2003-10. He was banned for two years after testing positive for blood doping at the 2007 Tour but came back to win the men's road race at the 2012 London Olympics. He started his managerial career after retiring that year.

The Tour de France starts Saturday from the port city of Brest in the western Brittany region.

The Astana team changed its name to Astana-Premier Tech this year as the Canadian company joined as co-sponsor.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A B.C. condo owner who was blamed for a cockroach infestation in her building and charged thousands of dollars for the cost of eradicating the bugs must be refunded, the civil resolution tribunal ruled.

Local Spotlight

On Saturday night at her parents鈥 home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

Stay Connected