I deny the accusation of riding for Vinokurov

What a load of bull! I came to the Olympics with the goal of fighting for the best result possible and representing the Czech Republic. Some people didn’t believe that I´d be on the starting line of the Olympic road race after the Polish Tour and that I wouldn’t  even be able to finish the race. I set many things aside for the sake of the Olympics and I carefully prepared for the race. I guess that the performance I put in is something I can´t be ashamed of. All of my friends and fans who understand cycling were of the same opinion. I fought all the way through and wasn’t just sitting in the pack.I was active and, as a result, I ended up riding in the leading group of 25 riders with Vinokurov who eventually grabbed the victory. I would also like to point out that I was the only Czech rider in that group compared to some other countries who had more riders there. There were three Spaniards, two Americans, two Dutch and two Belgians.When Vino and Uran rode away from the group with about 6km to go, it never crossed my mind that they would stay ahead until the finish. I knew very well that there were some fast riders in my group who would want to bring them back to have a chance of sprinting for the medal.Of course, I have never been and never will be a sprinter. I wasn’t definitely one of those fast riders who hoped for the bunch sprint. I believe that it would have been a mistake if I had been chasing the duo alone and then I´d have finished as good as 12th, anyway. It wasn’t my job to set the pace.After the race I said that I wouldn’t be the first to chase my teammate. But I also added: because of the fact that there were other riders who had their helpers at their hand. Owning to this misfortunate statement, everything backfired against me. Three Astana riders were in the chasing group behind Vinokurov; me, the Slovenian Brajkovic and Ukrainian Grivko. When I appeared with Brajkovic at the front with 3km remaining it wasn’t because we wanted to slow down the group, as the Czech TV Nova claimed, but because we wanted to get the riders moving as nobody was interested in pulling.If somebody had attacked at that moment I wouldn’t have hesitated to go after him regardless of Vinokurov presence at the front but if I know that I don’t stand a chance in a bunch sprint I don’t pull the group. I thought that we´d catch them and I´d blast away with 3km to go. You can´t put all your money on the sprint in a race like this, so I was hoping to make my move towards the end. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. Instead of getting some credit for a solid performance I have read only criticism for helping a Kazakh rider who is my employer. That is a big fat lie! I was riding for the Czech Republic. My conscience is clear and I can only say that I couldn’t have done more for a better result. That is all I could have done in that situation.