Just saw this on the Associated Press wire. Apparently, Alexandre Vinokourov is calling it quits.

Kazakh cyclist Alexandre Vinokourov reportedly retiring after receiving doping ban

PARIS (AP) — Kazakh cyclist Alexandre Vinokourov is reportedly retiring from the sport after being handed a one-year ban for doping.

The 34-year-old Vinokourov, who tested positive for a banned blood transfusion during the Tour de France, was given the ban Thursday by Kazakhstan’s cycling federation. The suspension runs through next July.

“In these last few hours, my mind has been elsewhere,” Vinokourov was quoted as saying in the French sports daily L’Equipe on Friday. “Cycling is finished. But I want to fight only to regain my honor and so that my image isn’t tarnished forever.”

Vinokourov and his Astana teammates were forced out of this year’s Tour de France when he tested positive after winning the 13th stage.

Astana subsequently fired Vinokourov after his “B” sample confirmed the positive result. Blood transfusions increase an athlete’s red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the muscles.

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