Vinokourov keeps his options open

PUTRAJAYA: Astana team leader Alexandre Vinokourov has yet to decide which major Tour he will take part in this year.

Vinokourov, who will be participating in his first race of the year in the Le Tour de Langkawi (LTDL) which starts on Friday, said he is still trying to get back into shape.

“I think I still have to log in a couple of hundred training miles in my legs before I start thinking of winning any race. And the (LTDL) will be a good platform for me to gauge my fitness,” said the Kazakhstan rider.

Vinokourov will be assisted by team-mates Assan Bazayez, Valentin Iglinskiy, Dmitriy Gruzdev, Alexandre Dyachenko and Andrey Zeits.

He contemplated quitting last year after he crashed out of the Tour of France with a broken collarbone.

The 39-year-old, who will be riding as a professional for the last year, said to win a Classics this year would be out of the question.

“The Tour (de France) ... maybe. But not the Classics. But whatever it is, it will depend on how I feel.”

Vinokourov is also keeping his options open for the London Olympics.

“Maybe I will feature in the Games, but we have others who are good as well in the Kazakh team, so we will see.”

Last night, Vinokourov and his Astana teammates were joined by 300-odd fans in a leisure ride in Putrajaya.

The Kazakh was full of praise for the organisers on his second visit to Malaysia since 1997.

“I hope we can put up a good performance, maybe win a stage or two. As for me, this is my first race of the year and if I can win a stage it will be a bonus,” he said.

The LTDL will start with a 20.3km individual time trial in Putrajaya and will end on March 4 in Kuala Terengganu.