Outcasts Astana unhappy being snubbed

By Julien Pretot

PARIS (Reuters) - Astana will probably not make it to cycling's roll of honours this year after becoming the sport's pariahs.

With arguably the strongest roster of the peloton, the Kazakh team are still paying for last year's Tour de France doping fiasco.

Tour organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) said Astana would not take part in this year's race with Italy's RCS barring them from entering the Giro, the Tirreno-Adriatico and the Milan-San Remo classic.

"ASO's decision is dishonest, illogical, ridiculous and even arrogant," Astana spokesman Philippe Maertens told Reuters in an e-mail.

The Kazakh team are the only ProTour outfit to be left out of the Tour de France field, which includes 17 elite teams and three ProContinental teams.

Astana were asked to leave last year's Tour following Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov's positive test for blood doping after his stage win in Albi.

Compatriot Andrej Kashechklin has been sacked after also testing positive for blood doping on Aug. 1 in Turkey.

However, Astana have overhauled their structure, with former Discovery Channel manager Johan Bruyneel taking over from Swiss Marc Biver. The Belgian has arrived with Tour winner Alberto Contador, who will eventually not be allowed to defend his title in July.

Spain's Contador is probably paying for Bruyneel's tense relationship with ASO since he led American Lance Armstrong to seven successive titles on the French roads.

"Maybe it's one of the reasons why we were not picked by ASO," Maertens reckoned.

Bruyneel and Armstrong are still close, with the Texan paying a visit to his former team during last year's Tour de France despite being not accredited by ASO.

ALREADY FAULTED

Astana have built a very strong team around Contador, who will also not be able to defend his the ASO-owned Paris-Nice this month.

German Andreas Kloeden, who finished second on the Tour in 2004 and third in 2006 and American Levi Leipheimer, third last year in France, were supposed to help Contador retain his crown.

"It appears that only a few powerful race organisers do not recognise that we are an entirely different team from 2007 and should be allowed to compete in the world's biggest races," said Bruyneel.

Astana also fell victim of a political battle between big Tours organiser and the International Cycling Union (UCI). The UCI asked the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and the Tour of Spain to be part of their ProTour series of races which would mean guaranteed places for elite cycling teams.

But the organisers have always refused to be part of the ProTour, saying they must retain control over who can participate in their races.

"They have already faulted, more than once. I want to make clear that this decision is not aimed at Contador but he happens to wear the Astana shirt," Tour director Christian Prudhomme told Reuters earlier this week.

Email this article to your friend -