Astana Team boss Alexandrea Vinokourov and Katusha rider Alexandr Kolobnev could stand trial on corruption charges, a court in Belgium has decided.
There have been allegations that Vinokourov bought his 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege victory with Swiss L'Illustre magazine accusing Vinokourov of paying Kolobnev €100,000 to let him win the race and later publishing emails that appear to indicate some form of agreement between the pair.
In 2012, an investigation into Doctor Michele Ferrari found that two payments of €50,000 had been made to Kolobnev from Vinokourov with a court in Liege, taking up the case two years later, looking at both payments and a third from the Kazakhstan Cycling Federation.
If found guilty, Vinokourov and Kolobnev could face between six months and three years in prison and a fine of €300,000-€600,000.