Alexandr Vasilievich Kolobnev (russian: Александр Васильевич Колобнев; born 4 May 1981) is a Russian former professional road bicycle racer. His major victories include winning the

2007 Monte Paschi Eroica The 2007 Monte Paschi Eroica was the first professional edition of the Monte Paschi Eroica bike race, later called ''Strade Bianche''. It was raced on Tuesday 9 October 2007 in the province of Siena in Tuscany, Italy. The race was won by Russian r ...

, a stage of the 2007 Paris–Nice and he is a two-time winner of the

Russian National Road Race Championships The Russian National Road Race Championships are cycling races that are held annually to determine the Russian cycling champion in road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held eith ...

. In 2011, he was provisionally suspended after testing positive for a potential drug masking agent. He was cleared of intentional doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in February 2012, and returned to in March 2012.

Career

Born in

Vyksa Vyksa (russian: Вы́кса) is a town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River southwest of Nizhny Novgorod. Population: History Vyksa was founded in 1765 and was granted town status in 1934. Etymology From a substrate ...

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

, Kolobnev spent his neo-pro year in 2002 with . His second season saw him sign with Domina Vacanze–Elitron. There, he took his first victory in Stage 2 of the

Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali The Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali ( en, International Week of Coppi and Bartali), also known as Coppi e Bartali, is an Italian cycle road race. It is run typically in late March over five days in the Emilia-Romagna region of Ital ...

. He stayed with Domina Vacanze through the 2004 season and signed with UCI ProTeam for 2005. With Rabobank he managed to capture Stage 1 of the

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; en, Tour of the Valencian Community or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is ofte ...

in 2006. In 2007 he transferred to . He won the third stage of Paris–Nice, became the inaugural winner of the

Monte Paschi Eroica The Strade Bianche is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name ''Strade Bianche'' (Italian for ''White Roads'') st ...

, now known as

Strade Bianche The Strade Bianche is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name ''Strade Bianche'' (Italian for ''White Roads'') st ...

, and finished second at the

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

. Kolobnev finished fourth in the road race at the 2008 Olympic Games. Second-place finisher

Davide Rebellin Davide Rebellin (9 August 1971 – 30 November 2022) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for UCI Continental team . He was considered one of the finest classics specialists of his generation with more than fifty top t ...

later tested positive for

Continuous erythropoietin receptor activator Continuous erythropoietin receptor activator (CERA) is the generic term for drugs in a new class of third-generation erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). In the media, these agents are commonly referred to as 'EPO', short for erythropoietin. C ...

(CERA), causing the IOC to strip him of his silver medal. Though the UCI considers Kolobnev promoted to third in the race's standings, he has not been awarded a bronze medal.

Controversies

Exonerated doping test

In the

2011 Tour de France The 2011 Tour de France was the 98th edition of the race. It started on 2 July at the Passage du Gois and ended on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July. The cyclists competed in 21 stages over 23 days, covering a distance of . The route e ...

he tested positive for the diuretic

hydrochlorothiazide Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic medication often used to treat high blood pressure and swelling due to fluid build-up. Other uses include treating diabetes insipidus and renal tubular acidosis and to decrease the risk of kidney stones in ...

, a masking agent that can hide the presence of performance-enhancing drugs. He was subsequently pulled from the tour by his team, and his results for that stage were annulled. Despite his B sample also testing positive he only received a fine from the Russian cycling federation. However this was later appealed by the UCI to CAS, although he was subsequently cleared of any charges on 29 February 2012. Kolobnev rejoined in March 2012.

Acquitted on case 2010 Liège–Bastogne–Liège

In 2012, the

Union Cycliste Internationale The ''Union Cycliste Internationale'' (UCI; ; en, International Cycling Union) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues raci ...

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 Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five '' Monuments'' of the European professional ...

, alleging €150,000 exchanged hands. 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. Kolobnev and Vinokourov were cleared on 5 November 2019, with the judge citing a "lack of concrete evidence" for the court's decision.

Personal life

He lives in

Dénia Dénia ( es, Denia) is a historical coastal city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia, and the capital and judicial seat of the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta. Denia's historical heritage ...

, Spain, with his wife Daria and two sons and one daughter, David, Alexander and Aprelia. He opened a hotel in Denia which had several altitude simulation rooms, a permitted method to increase athletic performance.

Major results

;1999 : 1st Overall Giro della Lunigiana ;2001 : 1st Gran Premio di Poggiana : 4th Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships : 4th Gran Premio Industrie del Marmo ;2002 : 9th

GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano The GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano is a road bicycle race held annually in Larciano, Italy. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road ...

;2003 : 2nd Gran Premio di Lugano : 2nd

Giro dell'Emilia The Giro dell'Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour, and since 2020 it's part of the UCI ProSeries calendar. The ...

: 4th Overall

::1st Stage 2 : 4th

Coppa Sabatini The Coppa Sabatini is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Province of Pisa, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing R ...

: 5th

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week betw ...

: 6th Trofeo Città di Castelfidardo ;2004 : 1st MaillotRusia

Road race, National Road Championships : 1st Jersey white

Young rider classification

: 2nd

Gran Premio Nobili Rubinetterie The Gran Premio Nobili Rubinetterie was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Arona, Italy between 1997 and 2015. It was held primarily as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle ra ...

: 7th Overall Brixia Tour : 8th Gran Premio di Lugano : 8th

Trofeo Matteotti Trofeo Matteotti is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Pescara, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which ...

: 10th Road race,

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

;2005 : 2nd Overall Niedersachsen–Rundfahrt : 7th Road race,

: 8th Overall

Danmark Rundt Danmark Rundt is a Danish stage race for professional road bicycle racers organized as a part of the UCI Continental Circuits. It is currently sponsored by the Danish national postal agency, PostNord, and the race is therefore also known as Po ...

;2006 : 4th Overall

::1st Stage 1 : 5th Overall

Tour de Pologne The Tour de Pologne ( Polish: ''Wyścig Dookoła Polski'', English: ''Tour of Poland'', official abbreviation TdP,) is an annual, professional men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Poland. It consists of seven or eight stages ...

: 7th Overall

Sachsen Tour The Sachsen Tour is a multi-stage road bicycle race held in the region of Saxony, Germany. It was first held in 1985 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicy ...

: 9th

Rund um den Henninger Turm Rund is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Cathleen Rund (born 1977), German swimmer * Hanno Rund (1925–1993), German mathematician * Thorsten Rund (born 1976), German road and track cyclist See also * Rand (surname) Rand ...

;2007 : 1st

: 1st Stage 3 Paris–Nice : 1st Stage 2 ( TTT)

Deutschland Tour The Deutschland Tour (English: ''Tour of Germany'' and sometimes ''Deutschland-Rundfahrt'' in German) is the most important multi-stage road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June, but from 2005 until 2008 it was moved t ...

: 2nd

Road race,

: 5th Overall

Tour de Wallonie The Tour de Wallonie is a stage race cycling race on the UCI Europe Tour. It runs in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northw ...

: 9th

;2008 : 2nd

Clásica de San Sebastián The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa — Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián (San Sebastián Classic) is a one-day professional men's bicycle road race in northern Spain that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián. It is the m ...

: 3rd

Road race,

: 3rd

: 5th

Klasika Primavera The Klasika Primavera ( en, Spring classic) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April in Amorebieta, Spain. Since 2005, the race is organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road ...

: 5th

: 6th Overall

;2009 : 2nd Silver medal blank

Road race,

: 2nd

GP Miguel Induráin The Grand Prix Miguel Induráin ( es, Gran Premio Miguel Induráin), formerly the "Grand Prix Navarre" is a Spanish one-day road bicycle race. History The race was inaugurated in 1951, but was limited to local competition. It was rebranded after ...

: 3rd Overall

: 3rd

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia ( en, Tour of Lombardy), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five ' Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in ...

: 4th Overall

Tour of Ireland The Tour of Ireland (Irish: Turas na hÉireann, known from 1985 to 1992 as the Nissan Classic) was a bicycle stage race held in August, which ran for 35 editions over a 56-year period. Irish rider Seán Kelly recorded the most wins, four. Th ...

: 6th

Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classic ...

: 7th

: 9th Overall

Tour of Slovenia Tour of Slovenia is a stage race cycling race held in Slovenia. Between 2005 and 2018, it was organised as a 2.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle spor ...

: 9th Clásica de Almería : 9th

;2010 : 1st MaillotRusia

Road race, National Road Championships : 2nd

: 3rd

: 4th

: 7th Road race,

;2011 : 2nd

: 5th

;2012 : 2nd Road race, National Road Championships : 3rd Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal : 4th Overall

: 5th

Grand Prix of Aargau Canton Grand Prix of Aargau Canton (german: Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau) is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Aargau canton, one of the more northerly cantons of Switzerland. The race consists of fifteen laps around the Swiss town o ...

: 9th Trofeo Melinda ;2013 : 3rd Overall

::1st Stage 1 : 3rd

Tre Valli Varesine The Tre Valli Varesine is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Varese, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is usually the first and most important race of Trittico Lombardo, which con ...

: 7th

: 9th

Coppa Ugo Agostoni The Coppa Ugo Agostoni is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Lissone, Italy. The race is held in memory of Italian cyclist Ugo Agostoni, winner of prestigious classic Milan–San Remo, killed during World War II. It is also called ''Gi ...

;2014 : 7th

: 10th

;2016 : 1st Jersey blue

Mountains classification

Volta ao Algarve The Volta ao Algarve (Portuguese; en, Tour of the Algarve) is a road bicycle racing stage race held annually in the Algarve, Portugal. Since 2017, it has been organised as a 2.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became part of the new UCI ...

: 10th Overall

Giro di Toscana The Giro di Toscana is a road bicycle race held annually in Tuscany, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was not held in 2015. On 4 April 2016 it was announced that the race will ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

* *
Palmares on CyclingBase.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolobnev, Alexander 1981 births Living people People from Vyksa Russian male cyclists Olympic cyclists of Russia Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Russia Olympic medalists in cycling Doping cases in cycling Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Nizhny Novgorod Oblast