Alexandr Vasilievich Kolobnev (Александр Васильевич Колобнев;[2] born 4 May 1981) is a Russian former professional road bicycle racer.[3] His major victories include winning the 2007 Monte Paschi Eroica, a stage of the 2007 Paris–Nice and he is a two-time winner of the Russian National Road Race Championships. In 2011, he was provisionally suspended after testing positive for a potential drug masking agent.[4][5] He was cleared of intentional doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in February 2012,[6] and returned to Team Katusha in March 2012.[3]
In the 2011 Tour de France he tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide, a masking agent that can hide the presence of performance-enhancing drugs. He was subsequently pulled from the tour by his team,[10][11] and his results for that stage were annulled.[12] Despite his B sample also testing positive he only received a fine from the Russian cycling federation.[13] However this was later appealed by the UCI to CAS, although he was subsequently cleared of any charges on 29 February 2012.[14] Kolobnev rejoined Team Katusha in March 2012.[3]
Acquitted on case 2010 Liège–Bastogne–Liège
In 2012, the Union Cycliste Internationale initiated an investigation of Kolobnev and the Kazakh rider Alexander Vinokourov over allegations brought by the Swiss news magazine L'lllustre and Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. They accused Vinokourov of cutting a deal with Kolobnev in 2010 to aid Vinokourov in winning Liège–Bastogne–Liège, alleging €150,000 exchanged hands.[15] On 12 September 2019, prosecutors requested a six-month jail sentence for Kolobnev and Vinokourov, with an additional fine of €50,000 for Kolobnev, as well as €150,000 to be confiscated from his bank account.[16] Kolobnev and Vinokourov were cleared on 5 November 2019, with the judge citing a "lack of concrete evidence" for the court's decision.[17]
Personal life
He lives in Dénia, Spain, with his wife Daria and two sons and one daughter, David, Alexander and Aprelia. He opened a hotel in Dénia which had several altitude simulation rooms, a permitted method to increase athletic performance.[18]
