Vinokurov comments on doping scandal of Iglinsky brothers

The General Manager of Kazakhstan's Astana Pro Team Alexander Vinokurov has commented on the doping incident involving two of its riders Maxim and Valentin Iglinskiy, Tengrinews reports citing Vesti.kz.

“No one can tell how this even happened. It is a shock for all of us. All the cyclers of the Astana Pro Team must unfailingly follow the ethical requirements and obligations of their contracts. Moreover our team's rules clearly say that doping is prohibited! I was extremely disappointed and outraged at the fact that Maxim did not understand the importance of following these rules. The rules are for everyone regardless of their position within the team or nationality,” Vinokurov said.

According to Vinokurov, the anti-doping control in the team follows the UCI and WADA rules to the letter. “The team’s physician had repeatedly made tests of the cyclers’ samples and did not find anything that could have warned us about this. In addition, we work with an independent WADA laboratory in Turin, which in case of violations reports straight to the UCI. But, they too had found no violations,” Vinokurov said.

Astana Pro Team now has to provide the UCI with the documents that prove that the team follows the anti-doping regulations. “Each cycler who signed a contract with the team is obliged to follow the rules that forbid use of banned substances. Everyone has to understand that the use of such substances not only affects one’s own health, but also causes an irreparable damage to the image of the team. I repeat, we have very strict rules within the team. We are one of the few teams that has made (anti-doping) rules part of its internal regulations. We want to do what we can to soften the disgrace Iglinskiy brothers have fallen into. That is why the Cycling Federation of Kazakhstan has created a committee to investigate this case. The committee will question Maxim and Valentin. I hope, we will get answers to our questions about how they got the EPO without the doctor and team personnel’s knowledge,” the Manager of the Kazakh team said.

The team's cycler Maxim Iglinskiy tested positively for erythropoietin (EPO) in the beginning of the month. Earlier, his brother Valentin Inglinskiy too had his doping tests return positive results. Valentin was disqualified by the local Cycling Federation for four years. For Astana Pro Team having two cyclers with positive doping tests in one year meant an 8 day suspension and saw them miss several races, including The Tour of Beijing.

Writing by Gyuzel Kamalova, editing by Tatyana Kuzmina