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]