By Nick Butler

Alexander Vinokourov has stepped down as an ambassador for Almaty 2022 ©Getty ImagesAlexander Vinokourov, Kazakhstan's Olympic gold medal winning cyclist whose career has been dogged by doping controversies, has been removed from the list of ambassadors used by Almaty 2022 in their bid for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.


Vinokourov is considered one of his country's greatest ever athletes, having won many major stage race titles in addition to his London 2012 road race victory, including the 2006 Vuelta a España.

But the 41-year-old is also synonymous with an era of illegal drug use in the sport, having been handed a two-year ban after being caught blood doping following two stage victories during the 2007 Tour de France. 

After retiring following his triumph at London 2012, he has become general manager of the Astana team which produced 2014 Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali, but also had five riders banned for doping last year. 

Vinokourov had not played a direct role yet in supporting his country's Winter bid - which is facing opposition from only Beijing in a two-horse race - but was listed as the first Almaty 2022 ambassador on the bid website.

Alexander Vinokourov has been listed as an ambassador until the end of the Evaluation Commission inspection, but his name has now been removed from the website ©Almaty 2022Alexander Vinokourov has been listed as an ambassador until the end of the Evaluation Commission inspection, but his name has now been removed from the website
©Almaty 2022



When questioned during the recent International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission inspection, the bid's vice-chairman Andrey Kryukov claimed he would remain in his role because he is an Olympic champion, has served his punishment already, and because they "believe in second chances".

But, in an apparent U-turn, he has now been removed from the list of names on the website.

When questioned by insidethegames today, a bid spokesperson confirmed "Alexander Vinokourov resigned as bid ambassador."

He  added: "He was only part of the application phase".
 
As of last night, four bid ambassadors were listed, including Sochi 2014 bronze medal winning figure skater, Dennis Ten, although the website today appears to be down altogether, with a message saying that it is "under construction".

With Vinokourov's involvement likely to create negative publicity, the bid have shown a willingness to adapt and make required changes.

But their reluctance to publicly admit the problems of hiring a renowned doping cheat are troubling considering the impact doping had on the 2020 Summer race, where Japan's virtually flawless record in comparison to Turkey and Spain's less successful one was considered a key factor in Tokyo's victory over Istanbul and Madrid.

This time around, Almaty also used former 100 metres hurdler and current Member of Parliament Olga Shishigina, another Kazakh athlete whose career has been tainted by drugs, as a speaker during the Evaluation Commission inspection.

She served a two year doping ban from 1996 to 1998 before returning to win an Olympic gold medal at Sydney 2000.

Olga Shishigina, another athlete to have served a doping ban who came back to win an Olympic gold medal, has promoted Almaty 2022 in the last week ©Getty ImagesOlga Shishigina, another athlete to have served a doping ban who came back to win an Olympic gold medal, has promoted Almaty 2022 in the last week ©Getty Images



China is a country that has also struggled with doping problems in recent years, with 11 members of the Chinese swimming and cycling teams, winners of a total of 15 titles between them, disqualified from the Hiroshima 1994 Asian Games after failing tests for Dihydrotestosterone, a steroid.

Last May, double London 2012 gold medal winning swimmer Sun Yang tested positive for the banned stimulant trimetazidine and was banned for three months by the Chinese Swimming Association.

In October, Zhang Wenxiu was also stripped of her Incheon 2014 Asian Games hammer title after failing for anabolic steroid Zeranol.

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February 2015: Almaty 2022 defends use of former doping cheat as Bid Ambassador