The ***-for-tat centered around Ukranian cyclist Hanna Solovey’s dismissal from the Astana-Acca Due O women’s team continued Wednesday.
Alexander Vinokourov, general manager of Astana, denied claims made by the Ukranian Cycling Federation that Solovey’s dismissal from the squad was retribution over a failed attempt to make her a Kazakhstani citizen in time for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
“I think she was excluded from the squad entirely on other issues. She had a disagreement with the management team, she did not go to the races,” Vinokourov said in an interview with Astanafans.com.
Vinokourov described Solovey as a “good, talented athlete,” who in fact showed the initiative to ride for Kazakhstan. The real trouble, he said, was her propensity to go back to Ukraine and “disappear there.”
“If a person, in the last half of the season, made only one major race for the team … It’s not normal, I think,” he said. Solovey didn’t respond to a letter and never got in touch with the team, he claimed.
“As I understand it, the team just could not control her, and of course, no matter how gifted athlete was on any team, such risks are not necessary,” Vinokourov said. “Here I fully understand the decision of Astana-Acca Due O management.”
The post Vinokourov: Rider’s dismissal about ‘disagreement,’ not citizenship appeared first on VeloNews.com.
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