Alexander Vinokourov /

Alexander Nikolaevich Vinokourov, also written Alexandre Vinokourov, (Kazakh: Алексaндр Николаевич Винокуров, born September 16, 1973 in Petropavlovsk) is a Kazakhstani professional road bicycle racer, an all-rounder. He is often called "Vino". Vinokourov was banned for a year for blood doping during the 2007 Tour de France and so retired. In September 2008 he said he would return to cycling in 2009. In August 2009, Vinokourov began riding at the professional level again, rejoining the Astana team. He took victory in the 2010 Liège–Bastogne–Liège, and in the 13th stage to Ravel in the 2010 Tour de France. Vincent Lavenu, who offered Vinokourov his first professional contract, said Vinokourov was training every day at 11 and competed in cyclo-cross. Other accounts say he started at 13. In 1986, aged 13, Vinokourov became an athlete at the sports school in the Almaty, then capital of Kazakhstan. The school was based on those in the Soviet Union. Vinokourov trained at the school for five years. Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union and Vinokourov trained to compete with the Soviet national team. Around this time, he did his two-year military service. Kazakhstan declared independence