Lampre Farnese Vini rider finished back in 16th
He had hoped for a strong showing, but ultimately Andrey Kashechkin had to be satisfied with a modest 16th place finish in the individual pursuit at the Asian Games.
The 30 year old rider returned to cycling earlier this year, signing with Lampre-Farnese Vini after a three year absence from the peloton. He was originally handed a two-year ban in 2007 for receiving a blood transfusion, and his return to racing was delayed due to a dispute over their claims that he needed to pay a year’s salary as a fine. He also struggled to find a team.
Both of these issues were subsequently overcome. Lampre Farnese Vini finally stepped forward and he competed in the Vuelta a España in September. He finished third there four years ago, but this time round, was back in 18th place. He then rode the Giro di Toscana, the Gran Piemonte and the Tour of Lombardy, with a best placing of 18th in the first of those three.
According to Cicloweb and Gz2010 (and relayed by cyclismag), he did track racing from nine until 20 years of age, and briefly returned to it in 2002 when he did the Asian Games in Korea.
Kashechkin has more chances to take a medal home from the Games, with the Kazakhstan rider also doing the team pursuit and the points race.