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Alexandre Vinokourov could be jailed for 'fixing' 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege win

Belgian prosecutors also seek prison term for Alexander Kolobnev - and hefty fines for both riders

Prosecutors in Belgium have urged a criminal court to impose a jail sentence of six months against former professional cyclists Alexander Vinoukourov and Alexandr Kolobnev for corruption relating to their allegedly fixing the result of the 2010 edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The race was won by Astana 's Vinokourov and it is alleged that ahead of the finish he struck a deal with Kolobnev, who finished 6 seconds behind in second place, to pay the Katusha cyclist €150,000 if he did not dispute the finale, reports L’Equipe.

The public prosecutor’s office is also seeking a fine of €100,000 against Vinokourov and €50,000 against Kolobnev.

It has also requested the confiscation of €150,000 seized from the latter’s bank account in Lugano, Switzerland, during the investigation.

Lawyers for both the accused deny the charges and claim that they are inadmissible. They have asked for both to be acquitted or, alternatively, for any jail sentence handed down to be suspended.

Judgment is due to be delivered at the criminal court in Liege on 8 October.

The case has been rumbling on for several years, with world cycling’s governing body opening an investigation in 2012 but subsequently closing it with no action taken.

The same year, investigators in Italy identified two transfers, one of €50,000, the other of €100,000, from Vinokourov’s Monaco bank account to Kolobnev’s Swiss one, and also uncovered emails between the pair.

In July 2012 Vinokourov, who retired from racing after winning Olympic gold in London that summer and is now general manager of Astana journalists he had made payments to Kolobnev but insisted the money was a loan and nothing to do with his Liège-Bastogne-Liège victory.

The investigation by prosecutors in Belgium, meanwhile, was launched in 2014.

Vinokourov has been in the news in recent days for a different reason – on Sunday, he won the world championship in his age group at the Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Nice.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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Kendalred | 5 years ago
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Standard practice in the peloton in years gone by. Are they going to investigate every allegation of buying a win throughout the history of cycling? They'll have work for life!

Also, what about the 'gentlemans agreements' that go on even to this day? "Work with me to get higher on GC and I'll let you have the stage" - are these not classified as 'fixing'?

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