MILAN — Emails and details of bank transfers that allegedly demonstrate how Alexandre Vinokourov paid off breakaway companion Alexandr Kolobnev to win the 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege cycling classic were printed by an Italian newspaper Saturday. Having obtained access to legal documents from prosecutors in Padua investigating doping, Corriere della Sera reported that Vinokourov allegedly paid Kolobnev €150,000 (nearly $200,000) to win the prestigious single-day race. Corriere printed alleged emails in Cyrillic from the pair that include the exchange of banking information, adding that Swiss authorities provided details of the bank transfers. The victory was Vinokourov's biggest after returning from a two-year suspension for blood doping at the 2007 Tour de France. He won the race with a long sprint to the line, finishing six seconds ahead of Kolobnev. Vinokourov also won the road race at the London Olympics. Details of the alleged sports fraud have been forwarded to Belgian authorities and the International Cycling Union (UCI), according to the report. The payoff revelations were first reported by Swiss magazine L'illustre. “It's a very old story,” UCI spokesman Enrico Carpani told the Associated Press, adding that the UCI asked L'illustre for evidence of the case two years ago but was turned down. With offices closed, Carpani couldn't say yet if the UCI had been notified of developments in the case by Padua investigators. Calls to ASO, which organizes the race, went unanswered. The first e-mail was sent April 26, the day after the race, from Kolobnev to Vinokourov. Kolobnev allegedly wrote: “Remember well, I had a great chance. ... I didn't do it for the contract but rather for the situation you found yourself in ... If it had been someone else in your place I would have raced for the win, for the glory and the bonuses. ... Now I'm waiting patiently. Take my transfer information and put them somewhere else and erase the e-mail.” At the bottom of the message, Kolobnev attached his banking information for an account in Locarno, Switzerland, according to Corriere. Vinokourov responded 12 days later. “Hi Kolobok, sorry that I took so long to respond,” Vinokourov allegedly wrote. “Don't worry, you did everything right. ... As far as the agreement goes, don't worry, I'll take care of everything.” After intercepting the emails, Italian investigators sought help from Swiss authorities, who proved that the account listed was Kolobnev's and that it was undersigned by a Bsi bank worker named Edoardo Coceprio, who is also under investigation. — AP
