TOUR DE FRANCE: Vinokourov returns to win 13th stage

REVEL, France — Alexandre Vinokourov did his time for doping. Now, he’s back to basking in Tour de France glory again.

The 36-year-old from Kazakhstan capped his return to cycling’s main event by winning the 13th stage on Saturday with a solo breakaway that said more about savvy and opportunistic cycling than leg power.

It was a far cry from the 2007 Tour, when Vinokourov was kicked out and instantly became an emblem of doping shame after testing positive for a banned blood transfusion.

Police raided his Astana team’s hotel and the squad quit the race. Tour organizers lost the gamble they made by giving Astana a wild card to race a year after it was forced out in another doping scandal.

Vinokourov has since said he doesn’t want to dwell on the past. He wants to regain the trust of fans and prove that he can win with hard work alone.

“I showed I worked hard in these two years,” he said Saturday. It was his fourth career Tour stage victory. It would have been No. 6 — but his two stage wins in the 2007 Tour were nullified after his disqualification.

Andy Schleck of Luxembourg retained the yellow jersey, finishing in the pack alongside Vinokourov’s teammate Alberto Contador, who trails by 31 seconds. Samuel Sanchez of Spain is a distant third, 2:45 back.

A showdown between Contador and Schleck looms in the Pyrenees, where the pack heads today for the first of four stages — one of the toughest sequences of climbing the three-week race has seen in recent years.

Seven-time champion Armstrong cruised in a bunch, finishing 4:35 back in 100th place — the fourth straight day that he’s lost time. The 38-year-old Texan says his title hopes are over: he’s 36th overall, 25:38 back.

After the pack had finished, Armstrong was shown on TV smiling and chatting with RadioShack teammate Yaroslav Popovych while leisurely riding under a canopy of trees.

Armstrong didn’t respond to questions from reporters before or after the stage. He has been plagued by crashes at this year’s Tour, coming down at least three times and getting delayed by at least two others.

His latest — and this time, bizarre — crash came during the warm-up ride in the neutral zone on Saturday, before the start line. The Tour pack usually rides a few kilometers before a regular stage officially begins. RadioShack spokesman Philippe Maertens said Armstrong believed he simply bumped a teammate and fell, scraping up his left elbow. He returned to the race quickly.