Astana manager Alexander Vinokourov came out in support of embattled team leader Vincenzo Nibali on Thursday, saying he and the team have “full confidence” in the defending Tour de France champion.
Vinokourov’s statement came in response to a report in the Spanish newspaper AS, which claimed he had told Nibali to look for a new team for 2016 even though the three-time Grand Tour winner has a contract in place until the end of next year. In the statement released Thursday evening, Astana emphatically denied the rumour.
“There has never been a question that Vincenzo Nibali will leave the team at the end of the season,” Vinokourov said. “Vincenzo is doing very well in the team."
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Nibali underwent blood tests on Thursday morning ahead of stage 12 in the hope of getting to the bottom of his lackluster performance.
The 2014 champion has had a sorry time of it so far and finds himself almost eight minutes down on yellow jersey Chris Froome, his title defence in tatters. He has endured a steady leakage of time since the start, and although the opening portion of the race was meant to suit him best of the Fab Four, he came out of it worst of them all at more than two minutes back.
In the Pyrenees he hasn’t fared any better, losing a devastating four minutes on the first summit finish at La Pierre-Saint-Martin and even dropping a minute late during stage 11 on Wednesday. During Thursday's 12th stage, he finished with the yellow jersey group and even attacked Froome on the final climb.
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