Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

The banning of the Astana Cycling Team became official today as the A.S.O (Amaury Sports Organization) officially rebuked the team from participating in all A.S.O sponsored events. This comes after the Giro D’Italia snubbed the Kazak-sponsored team from participating in Italy in May. The snub comes despite a complete overhaul of the team structure from the scandal-ridden squad of 2007. The 2007 Astana team had a similar promise last year as Alexandre Vinokourov took over the team and overhauled the management structure from the previous incarnation as Liberty Seguros. The shakeup only brought more scandals as Mattais Kessler, Eddie Mazzoleni, Vinokourov and Kashekin tested positive or were involved in some scandal last year.

The same promise of a shakeup was not enough for the A.S.0. as they are very weary of more scandals in cycling biggest event. The Giro and Tour organizers taking a harder line and choosing which teams they wish to invite. This rift with the U.C.I. and the ProTour allows the Grand Tour organizers a chance to wrestle back control of who is invited.

The Giro suffered from too many Pro Tour teams using the event as a training race for their young racers or Tour de France hopefuls. Therefore they invited more Continental based Italian teams while snubbing Astana, High Road and a few French teams. Now the A.S.O. which is scandal weary has taken a similar hard line and barred Astana.

This may seem like a drastic move, but I would have to applaud the move as a serious hard line against doping. Contador was already coming under suspicion for his involvement in Operation Puerto. The investigation seems to be getting legs again just as the cycling season starts up. Andreas Kloden is still in the Astana team from 2007 and was in the T-Mobile teams that were suspected of doping. His involvement with the current Astana team does not show a serious break enough break from the past. Astana has not had any time to really prove itself on the road and in the headlines.

Part of the restructuring of the Astana team involved using a rigorous anti-doping testing program. The new structure with medical tests employed by Astana are similar to teams such as CSC and A.S.O. favorite Slipstream. These tests would check racers in a regular basis to help check against doping. Despite this positive aspect the A.S.O. still looked unfavorably on the team being present in France in July.

With this drastic move the fate of Astana may rely on the sponsor’s willingness to stick out a year without the main publicity generated by racing in France. Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer will have to think of a Plan B now that their season has a large chunk of free time in July.

The civil war that was threatening to destroy cycling may not happen. The UCI and ASO, Unipublic and RCS (organizers of the Grand Tours) have called a ceasefire in their struggle for power and control of their events and cyclign in general. This is good news only one week before the first ProTour race of the year Paris-Nice was supposed to start. Paris-Nice was under threat of having no ProTour teams present. The event was at risk of being run as a Continental or worse and amateur event.

Finally cooler heads are prevailing allowing for the ProTour to continue with all of the 20 teams including Unibet.com and Astana.

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