Alexandre Vinokourov wins battle over £1.2m doping fine

Vinokourov was 16th overall in the 2010 Tour

Kazakh rider Alexandre Vinokourov has been told he need not pay a £1.2m fine for doping at the 2007 Tour de France.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled the International Cycling Union (UCI) and his Astana team pressured the 37-year-old into signing a declaration.

Vinokourov promised to pay a year's salary toward anti-doping projects if he received a two-year ban - the punishment he subsequently received.

But Cas ruled the promise was a public relations exercise with no legal basis.

Vinokourov, who was disqualified from the 2007 Tour and banned for two years for blood doping, returned to action last year.

Announcing that Vinokourov need not pay the fine, Cas stated that its aim was to "restore the credibility and esteem of professional cycling, in general, and the Tour de France, in particular, in the eyes of the public."

It also said the UCI, the sport's governing body, did not make clear whether the intended fine was referred to salary before or after tax, or whether commercial earnings should be taken into account.

Vinokourov, known as "Vino", had been tipped to win the 2007 Tour, having finished third in 2003 and fifth two years later.

He quit competitive cycling after being dismissed from the 2007 event but returned to the sport with Astana two years later.

The Kazakh won stage 13 of the 2010 Tour and finished 16th spot overall, having won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic in April.