Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer of Astana kicked out of Tour de France
Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer Astana kicked out of Tour de France
PARIS, Feb 13, 2008 (AFP) - The Astana team of reigning Tour de France champion Alberto Contador have been barred from competing in this year’s race as a result of doping scandals over the past two years, organisers confirmed on Wednesday.
ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation) said that given “the damage caused by this team to the Tour de France and cycling in general, as much in 2006 as 2007″ they had decided to prevent Astana from competing in any of their races.
“The Astana team in effect last year betrayed the confidence of organisers who even then invited them on trust of an overhaul presented by their leaders,” ASO said in a statement.
As well as Spaniard Contador the decision also effects American Levi Leipheimer, who finished third last year, and Germany’s Andreas Kloden, widely considered as one of the race favourites.
ASO’s decision is likely to come up against International Cycling Union (UCI) president Pat McQuaid who slammed the decision of the Tour of Italy organisers similarly not to invite Astana to compete in this year’s race.
The Luxembourg-registered Kazakh team were forced to withdraw from the 2007 Tour de France and were snubbed by the Spanish Vuelta in September after a string of doping scandals.
The team’s former leader Alexandre Vinokourov was fired after testing positive for a blood transfusion during the Tour, while riders Andrej Kashechkin and Matthias Kessler also failed doping tests.
Since their drug-tainted 2007 season, Astana have undergone a makeover, and promised to clean up their act.
A new team of riders, including Contador and Leipheimer, have come on board along with their manager, Johan Bruyneel, from the now defunct Discovery Channel team.
Bruyneel helped Lance Armstrong to seven consecutive Tour wins, and led Contador to his first yellow jersey last year.
ASO added: “As the team has once again changed, ASO will remain vigilent to Astana’s efforts to put in place for a 2008 season without scandals and suspicion and could so consider an eventual bid for future events.”
Cycling’s top tier of Pro Tour teams were supposed to be automatically invited to the major races of the season, however major race organisers, including RCS (Tour of Italy) and ASO (Tour de France) are now no longer part of the Pro Tour calendar following a protracted dispute with the International Cycling Union (UCI).
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Sacre Bleu! FRENCH DOGS! Once again the french (in the form os ASO) PROVE they will go to any length to eliminate the competiton so tha a Frenchman “might” have some small chance of actually winning the TdF. UNLIKELY!
ASO will do anything to keep Johan Bruyneel from winning another TDF. He has put together the best team and has won the last 8 TDF out of 9 he entered. They will be lucky if a Frenchman wins a stage. If Astana doesn’t ride, CSC will prevail.
Feb 13th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
[...] exists in France in the latter 20th and early 21st centuries? This system is used to mistreat and deny opportunity to superior non-French cyclists. The ASO allowed the French minority to keep the non-French majority off of the Tour de France [...]