Alexandre Vinokourov Tour de France st15

In a very concise press release, the Astana cycling squad have announced that they have sacked Alexandre Vinokourov. Vinokourov had tested positive at the Tour de France for blood doping, which lead to the withdrawal of the whole team from the race - this announcement comes after his B sample also tested positive.

This must leave the Astana set-up in an awkward situation as the squad was formed around Vinokourov as its leader, with the vast majority of its sponsorship coming from businesses in Kazakhstan, Vino's home country.

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