Because once again he speaks so much sense:
"That's why I'm appealing the doping ban. On Monday I'm flying out to Europe where I will meet my lawyers to discuss this case. But I can tell you right now I'll be appealing it to CAS," he said, referring to the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Vinokourov, one of the pre-race favourites, was kicked out of the Tour following the positive result. His Astana team was also forced out of the race. The Kazakh, who was subsequently fired by the Swiss-based team, blamed the French laboratory that analysed his samples for the positive test.
"The lab analysis were flawed, there was no accuracy in their tests," he said.
Vinokourov, who turned professional in 1998 with the Casino team and has 46 career victories including the 2006 Tour of Spain, said he had dreamt of a different ending.
"Since I started my professional career my aim was to go out on top as a champion, not like this, as a drugs cheat," he said. "I wanted to end my career after winning this year's Tour," added Vinokourov, who finished third in the 2003 Tour and won the silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Vinokourov, who would be eligible to race again after his suspension ends in July 2008, ruled out a return.
"I'm not coming back even if I win the appeal. In my case a one-year ban instead of two years makes no difference," he said. "It's like being sent to jail for a year while they investigate your case. It just doesn't work out for me, that's why I'm going to fight this injustice."
Vinokourov, who said that he would be consulting his lawyers regarding an appeal of his suspension, blamed anti-Kazakh bias for his problems.
"When we built the Astana team people started to talk behind our backs asking where are these Kazakhs coming from? They told us they didn't want us in Europe," said the 2006 Tour de Spain winner.
And he claimed that doping was not more rife in cycling than other more high-profile sports which were protected from scandals by their financial clout.
"I don't think cycling is dirtier than any other sport. We're 150 people, where are the others? Where is tennis, where is football? They've been told not to touch them," said Vinokourov.
"I've the impression that cycling is an orchestra with very good musicians but a bad conductor. That's the reason the sport is a mess."
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Because yes, I'm presently enjoying the torment of both the American track and field team and the Aussie swimming team after one or ten too many commentators just assumed they were clean but any Eastern European athlete is automatically assumed to be dirty.
Also, given that a lot of the football and rubgy players have physiques that wrestlers and body builders would be proud of (and given that we know how juiced those are) I'm still amazed that cricket has had more people caught doping. Also it's amazing how so many tennis of a certain nation have interesting physiques, especially since they have been linked to Operation Puerto and nothing is done about it. It might have something to do with one of them being the only person who can beat a certain other person.
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