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There are still two days to go, but Levi Leipheimer has taken an option on the final victory in the Cascade Cycling Classic. It is the 29th edition of America’s longest consecutively run stage race. Leipheimer was impressive in stage 3, the Skyliner’s time trial in Bend over 22,4 km (15 m). The US champion [...]

Astana Cycling Team stays with its winning style. Austrian rider René Haselbacher won the 5th stage of the Tour of Austria from Wiener Neustadt to Bad Vöslau. He beat his companion Emanuele Bindi in the sprint. Both riders successfully ended a breakaway of 150 K. Haselbacher is the new leader in the points classification and [...]

Only two of the 180 riders in the Russian championship were Astana Cycling Team riders but a Team rider won. Sergey Ivanov was the strongest rider in the Russian championship in Krylatskoe. The riders had to do 15 laps. In each lap there were four short but steep climbs. It was a hard race. [...]

Levi Leipheimer held on to his 3th place on the final podium of the Dauphiné Libéré. The whole team performed well and defended with success its first place in the ProTour Team Classification. Astana Cycling Team leads with 110 points. Team CSC is second, 17 points behind, Caisse d’Epargne third, 18 points behind.
While Andreas [...]

Astana Cycling Team continues winning top races. Levi Leipheimer was the fastest rider in the 5.6 K prologue of the Dauphiné Libéré. Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) was second, one second behind, Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne) third. It is the 3rd victory of the season for the American road champion and his 2nd in [...]

AVIGNON, France, June 8, 2008 (AFP) - American Levi Leipheimer won the opening prologue of the Dauphine Libere, which usually serves as an appetizer for the Tour de France, here on Sunday.
The event’s 2006 champion beat out Norway’s Thor Hushovd by one second and was six seconds ahead of [...]

AVIGNON, France, June 7, 2008 (AFP) - Astana have watered down pre-race predictions that their team leader for the Dauphine Libere, Levi Leipheimer, will emerge triumphant after a week of tough racing in the Alps.
Traditionally a warm-up for July’s Tour de France, the hilly week-long race kicks off [...]

Astana Cycling Team, with Team Director Alain Gallopin, comes with a strong team to the 60th Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré to defend its first place in the ProTour Team Classification. On the menu: a prologue, two flat stages, an individual time trial and, at the end, three difficult stages in the Alps (Col du Joux-Plane [...]

MADRID, June 3, 2008 (AFP) - Recently-crowned Tour of Italy champion
Alberto Contador said on Tuesday that he could be considered one of the greats
of the sport.
The 25-year-old Spaniard added the Giro to his 2007 Tour de France title
and is looking to win the Tour of Spain in September, though, he will [...]

Three days after capturing the 91st Giro d’Italia title, Alberto Contador gets his deserved rest. The last days were well filled with celebrations.
At a press meeting in Pinto, he was quick to react regarding the definite position of ASO excluding Astana Cycling Team from participation in this year’s Tour de France. “Honestly, [...]

Spain’s Alberto Contador, who Sunday won the Italian Giro, has all the attributes to be as great a rider as legend Lance Armstrong, according to Astana cycling team boss Johan Bruyneel.
“When climbing I have seen him do things that only only Armstrong knows how to do,” the Belgian [...]

MILAN, June 1, 2008 (AFP) - Spain’s Alberto Contador of Astana won the Tour of Italy on Sunday following the final stage, a 28.5km time trial won by Italian Marco Pinotti of High Road.
The Spaniard snapped an 11-year Italian winning streak in the event - Russia’s Pavel Tonkov [...]

PLAN DE CORONES, Italy, May 26, 2008 (AFP) - Italian rider Franco Pellizotti of Liquigas won the 16th stage of the Tour of Italy, a 12.9km time trial here on Monday.
Spain’s Tour de France champion Alberto Contador retained the leader’s pink jersey after finishing fourth on the day, 22sec [...]

PASSO FEDAIA, Italy, May 25, 2008 (AFP) - Spaniard Albert Contador of
Astana took the overall lead in the Tour of Italy on Sunday after Italian
Emanuele Sella of CSF won the 15th stage.
Sella triumphed on the day in the rain but the plaudits went to Contador,
the reigning Tour de France champion, as [...]

URBINO, Italy, May 19, 2008 (AFP) - Spaniard Alberto Contador, last year’s
Tour de France winner, is suffering from a minor elbow fracture sustained
during a crash during the ongoing Tour of Italy, but has vowed to continue the
race.
“Contador’s visit to the radiologist today (Monday) revealed a fissure in
the radius head of his [...]

by Jean Montois
PALERMO, Italy, May 10, 2008 (AFP) - Spaniard Alberto Contador admitted he will be looking to finetune his form in the coming weeks if he is to become a real contender for the Giro d’Italia crown.
Contador was among the pre-race favourites for the Giro’s [...]

PALERMO, Italy, May 9, 2008 (AFP) - Climbers who can keep their time trial losses to a minimum will be among the top contenders for the pink jersey in the Giro d’Italia which clicks into gear here Saturday.
The 91st edition of the Giro begins with a team time trial, [...]

by Justin Davis
PARIS, May 5, 2008 (AFP) - Spaniard Alberto Contador and his Astana team have admitted to being in a race against time as they prepare for the first three-week race of the cycling season.
Giro d’Italia organizers performed a dramatic u-turn on Sunday and invited [...]

One week prior to the start of the Giro d’Italia (May 10th-June 1st), the Astana Cycling Team has received an invitation to participate in the first Grand Tour of 2008. The race organizer, RCS, changed their original February decision, which stated that the Team was not planning on bringing a “motivated” team. The [...]

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, May 4, 2008 (AFP) - Astana’s Andreas Kloden won the Tour of Romandie title on Sunday after the final stage, a 154.2km ride from Le Bouveret to Lausanne.
Italian Daniele Bennati of Liquigas won a sprint finish for the stage honors ahead of Sweden’s Markus Zberg and Kazhakh [...]

ROME, May 4, 2008 (AFP) - Giro d’Italia organizers have performed a dramatic u-turn and invited the Kazakh-backed Astana cycling team to this year’s race, Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport on Sunday reported organizers as saying.
“Yes, I have invited Contador,” the Gazzetta quoted race organizer Angelo Zomegnan [...]

ZINAL, Switzerland, May 3, 2008 (AFP) - Astana’s Andreas Kloden distanced one of his main rivals for the Tour de Romandie title Saturday after a hilly fourth stage won by Italian Francesco De Bonis of Gerolsteiner.
De Bonis claimed the fourth and penultimate stage of the Swiss stage race, finishing [...]

Kazakh champion Maxim Iglinskiy won the first stage in the Tour de Romandie. Iglinskiy (27) was the fastest sprinter in the streets of Saignelégier. Iglinskiy, perfectly brought to the finish by his four team-mates in the select breakaway (Andreas Klöden, Steve Morabito, Vladimir Gusev and Thomas Frei), positioned himself as the first rider through the [...]

PRESS RELEASE
Astana Cycling Team, under the guidance of team directors Viatcheslav Ekimov and Alexandr Shefer, won the team classification in the Tour de Georgia (USA, April 21st to 27th). Astana had an advantage of 3:30 to Team CSC.
Levi Leipheimer finished 3rd in the GC, 14 seconds behind former U23 world champion Kanstantin Sivtsov (High [...]

MADRID, April 8, 2008 (AFP) - Spain’s Alberto Contador, riding for the Astana team, retained the overall lead of the Tour of the Basque Country after Luxemburger Kim Kirchen led the peloton home in the second stage on Tuesday.
High Road rider Kirchen completed the 153km run from Legazpia to [...]