Champ faces trial on race

FORMER Olympic champion cyclist Alexander Vinokourov is to face trial for corruption in Belgium over allegations he paid a rival to let him win a major race.

The 44-year-old Kazakh, who won Olympic road race gold in London in 2012 having served a two-year doping ban from 2007-09, is accused of having paid Russian Alexander Kolobnev 150,000 euros ($178,000) to let him win the 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

He will stand trial in Liege in March. Kolobnev will also stand trial.