Aged Vino takes 2nd in Dauphine prologue.

//Aged Vino takes 2nd in Dauphine prologue.

Aged Vino takes 2nd in Dauphine prologue.

Vino aging well.

Vino, sweet formerly red Vinokourov, continues to age like a fine Kazakh dessert wine.

In the prologue of the Critérium du Dauphiné, Vinokourov finished just two seconds behind winner Lars Boom (Rabobank) and amazingly beat an on-form Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) by three ticks.

It’s also a small but nice psychological edge on the other GC contenders like Cadel Evans (BMC), Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and defending champion Janez Brajkovic (RadioShack).

The legs are turning over very well, I had some good sensations,” Vinokourov said. “It’s very good.” Drink enough wine and the sensations are always good, my Kazakh friend.

Kazakhstan does love their vino but acreage is limited so they import 80% of their wine. Some wine critics claim the local wines taste like horse urine but that’s no reflection on Vinokourov.

Still Vino motors on at age 37, winning a Tour de France stage last year and a terrific (or exasperating, depending on point of view) win in Leige-Bastogne-Leige. This season he managed a 3rd place in the Tour of Romandie and put the pedal to the metal today in the Dauphiné prologue.

The Tour de France begins in less than a month and Vino will make his final assault on La Grande Boucle. Like a vintage Rkatsiteli Kazakhstan or an age dry Aligote wine, he still rides with a certain undeniable style.

Kazakhstan’s master wine maker Leonid Jahangirov would appreciate that.

By |2019-02-03T16:19:25-08:00June 5th, 2011|Uncategorized|4 Comments

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4 Comments

  1. Sam June 6, 2011 at 10:42 am - Reply

    Nope…no style at all in his riding or his ability to explain himself appropriately in his dealings with doping charges. Would rather see him compared to the "Horse Urine" than anything else, it seems more appropriate. He can go away anytime now, and continue his irrelevancy.

    • TwistedSpoke June 6, 2011 at 10:45 am - Reply

      Sam, you like Vino as much as me! It's too bad there's not a repentent bone in his body. I like the agressive riding style but then we know that style often happens for a reason. Matt

  2. Henkio June 6, 2011 at 1:22 pm - Reply

    In an age of Soviet training regimes this guy was seen as the toughest.
    In an age of over-controlled racing this guy got famous for attacking.
    In an age of hindsight crybabies this guy didn't pull a muscle.

    Vino will always be one of the greats.

    • TwistedSpoke June 6, 2011 at 6:13 pm - Reply

      Henkio, I know you like Vino. No worries. He has some good qualities and an atacking style but me, I'm just a stickler for apologies even when they're fake. Matt

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