Alexander Kolobnev has come out of retirement and will race for the Gazprom-Rusvelo team in 2016.
The 34-year-old announced in the middle of last year that he was taking an extended break from cycling after struggling to recover from a fractured foot sustained at the Vuelta al País Vasco. He didn't re-sign with Katusha for 2016, which indicated that he had chosen to go down the retirement path, but on Wednesday, Gazprom-Rusvelo, which is a feeder team to the Russian WorldTour squad, announced that Kolobnev had been added to their roster.
Kolobnev is a two-time silver medallist in the road race at the world championships, and twice the Russian national champion.
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Kolobnev expressed his satisfaction at being hired onto the team in its press release. "It was certainly a nice surprise," he said. "Thanks to the fans I found a great charge and the right motivation to remain in group. Renat has seen in me the qualities to be shared with the team, which is very young but composed of guys with absolute value. I'm excited and I feel like I had signed my first professional contract. I’d like to thank Renat for his confidence and I hope to be able to repay him and all the sponsors of the trust they have placed in me."
Kolobnev tested positive at the 2011 Tour de France for the masking agent hydrochlorothiazide but was acquitted of systematic doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which found it was the result of medication used for a vascular disease that he had suffered from for many years.
He was dropped by Katusha at the end of 2011 but rejoined following his acquittal. In that same turbulent year, allegations surfaced that he had sold victory in the 2010 Liège-Bastogne-Liège to Alexandre Vinokourov and he is due to stand trial on corruption charges.
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