Alexandre Vinokourov pranks Astana riders sporting old man disguise
2012 Olympic champion shows he still got some form from his career
Pro Team Astana is in Calpe, Spain for a pre-season training camp and on Thursday the team posted a video of manager Alexandre Vinokourov pranking the riders. Vinokourov put on a grey wig, a mustache, a fake belly and a different outfit to make him unrecognizable to the team riders.
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The video starts by reminding you who Vinokourov is, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist. It, of course, doesn’t mention he failed a doping control in 2007 and served a one-year suspension. Vinokourov retired after the 2012 Olympics and now manages his home countries WorldTour team. After getting in the disguise, Vinokourov chases down the riders.
On a climb as the team appears to be doing efforts with riders scattered, Vinokourov comes storming up the climb and puts in numerous efforts to not just ride with but blow past his riders. Vinokourov appears to have maintained a lot of fitness from his pro days.
The team cameras were on to capture all the action. Some riders appear to keep up with the disguised Vinokourov while others just watch him sail by.
At the top, Vinokourov pumps his fist and once the team gathers around him he reveals himself getting some high fives, claps and laughs for the prank. The rider testimony following the prank indicates they were apparently fooled.
Vinokourov could have gone a step further to really fool the riders, he was a top a team issue Argon18 which would have been easy enough to spot.
This is not the first prank Astana has pulled in 2018. Earlier this year, a video went around of the team’s new riders including Hugo Houle getting inked with the team logo. The tattoos were not permanent.
