The Swiss magazine claims that Vinokourov paid Kolobnev 100,000 Euros to allow him to win the race. The duo were alone in an attack at the finish, and Kolobnev did not sprint.
Vinokourov reassured the Russian that “You have done everything properly, do not worry”, after Kolobnev expressed concerns that "my balls may be cut off" if it came out that he was receiving payment.
“You remember that, for me it was a great chance. I do not know if I was right to do what I did,” wrote Kolobnev shortly after the race.
"Even my wife was not too uneasy by the fact that I was second, because you were the first,” he continued.
“Here is a copy of all my bank information and clear it from your mail box, or my balls may be cut off.”
Vinokourov did not reply until nearly two weeks later, saying he was busy with family and preparations for the Giro. “You have done everything properly, do not worry. As you say, the Earth is round and God sees everything ... So, again thank you. You, this year you will win the championship finally, I believe. Do not worry about the agreement, I will do it.”
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Kolobnev did not respond to the magazine's request for a comment, but they spoke to Vinokourov, who is attending a training camp in Spain with Team Astana. He flatly denied the charges, saying, “No, there was no cheating at Liege-Bastogne-Liege. In my career, I've never done that, I have always fought to win.”
He did speak with Kolobnev during the race, “but in a breakaway, it's normal, it is not forbidden, is it?”
When asked if he would confirm sending money to Kolobnev, he responded, “It's my private life, I am not talking with the police, it has nothing to do with it. This is another story to damage me. Thank God, I am still alive for the public, for the children, for my fans. I won because it was I who went the fastest.
“I often make payments left and right, sometimes I lend money, but I never offered to buy the win from Kolobnev.”
Pat McQuaid, president of the International Cycling Union, told the magazine that “Yes, there are rules about that. It is clear, if there is evidence, there could be penalties after an investigation on our part.”
He would not comment on this specific case and declined to read the documents involved. “It is not necessary, it must be given to our legal department. It is not for me to study it, it's not my role.”
UPDATE: In a statement released Wednesday by Team Astana, Vinokourov said that he would take legal action against L'Illustre. "I can’t accept that gossiping about me," he said. "Behind this case, there are certainly people who want my skin. It's weird that it happened few days after the announcement of my candidacy in the upcoming elections in my country.
"It is a violation of my privacy, how can we explain that emails arrive as if by chance on the desktop of a journalist without knowledge of their origin? My lawyers will also prosecute anyone who infringes on my integrity."
