Bay Shore, NY (February 22, 2010) – Finish Line Technologies, Inc., a leading manufacturer of premium bicycle lubricants and care products, will partner with UCI ProTour Team Astana as an official technical sponsor for the 2010 season.

Team Astana will utilize Finish Line’s race-tested products, including Teflon® Dry and Ceramic Wet Lubes, its Premium Teflon® Grease, and Citrus Degreaser.

“Team Astana is one of the most competitive in the world, and Finish Line products are engineered to deliver peak performance when every second counts,” said Finish Line President Hank Krause, who founded the company in 1988. “We’re excited to be part of a winning team and look forward to contributing to Team Astana’s continued success in 2010.”

Team Astana’s Alberto Contador was the winner of the 2009 Tour de France. Teammate Lance Armstrong, riding alongside fellow American cyclist teammate Levi Leipheimer, made his return to professional cycling that same year, placing third in the overall standings.

“We’re very pleased with this new relationship,” said Team Astana Sport Director Dmitri Sedoun. “Winning races is all about taking care of small details and Finish Line lubricants create confidence for our riders and mechanics. There will be a great synergy between all our technical sponsors.”

Specialized has been named as the complete bike sponsor for Team Astana. Zipp will outfit the team with wheels and SRAM Red will provide the componentry.

Additionally, Finish Line announced that it will continue working as official supplier to UCI ProTour Teams Liquigas and Lampre.

“By working with three tour teams, we have a unique feedback loop that allows us to obtain information that would otherwise take years to accumulate,” said Krause. “This is how we were able to fast track our Ceramic Wet Lubricant which many racers tell us is quickly becoming their lubricant of choice. When Team Saunier Duval disbanded after the 2008 Tour de France, we were down to working with just two tour teams. Over the years, we have found that three teams are optimal for testing products in the field, and Astana gets us back to this important number.”

Finish Line enjoys a leading market position in the bicycle lubricant category. The brand is proudly distributed in over 40 countries worldwide and has been available in Europe since 1989.

The Spaniard insisted that the 2010 Astana model had “nothing to do” with the 2009 line-up, which catered for the high-profile comeback of seven-time Tour de France winner Armstrong.

“This year, the team is based more around me and that’s thanks to Yvon Sanquer (team manager) and Giuseppe Martinelli (sporting director)”, said Contador.

“Last year, there were a lot of riders to dispute the big races and this year that is not so much the case.”

In the new season, Contador will ride alongside Kazakhstan’s Alexandre Vinokourov and his Spanish compatriot Oscar Pereiro.

Armstrong left Astana to spearhead the new RadioShack team with former Astana riders Levi Leipheimer, Jani Brajkovic, Andreas Kloden and Yaroslav Popovych.

On his uneasy relationship with Armstrong, Contador said: “I have great respect for him as a rider and competitor.”

Contador will start his season on February 17 at the Tour of the Algarve.

Davis was slowed by a mass pile-up at the start and was also hampered by Astana’s decision to come without their team radios, amounting to a terrible opening day of the season.

“It would have to be a big miracle now but I’m not really worrying about the overall (standings). It’s a long race, a long season and we’ll see what happens,” he said.

Davis, 29, refused to blame communication problems for his poor start, saying he was not in strong enough condition to challenge for the title and was more focused on this year’s world championships in Melbourne.

“It’s no problem, it’s one of those things, I was having a bit of a bad day as well,” he said. “They didn’t bring any (radios) over, I’m not sure why.”

“I know the work I’ve done and where I’m at, I’m not shattered at all.”

Davis famously battled back from a crash last year which badly injured 2008 champion Andre Greipel, Tuesday’s stage winner, to finish the day second and eventually win the title.

But he was unable to recover from the latest collision despite managing to stay on his bike as dozens of riders hit the deck.

“It was a bad one,” Davis said. “It was strange, we had just started to pick up speed and the next thing quarter of the peloton was on the ground all at the same time.

“The attacks had just started to go, the speed was just starting to pick up and next thing, bang, it went down.

“I just missed it and a guy took me out from behind, but I had one foot down before he hit me so it wasn’t too bad.”

“Last year I liked the race and I think it’s ideal to start the season,” explained the Spaniard, who is the reigning champion in the Portuguese race.

“Then I’ll go to the Paris-Nice (beginning of March) where we’ll be mainly looking to work on a team level, notably on tactical coordination,” he said.

Contador, winner of the Tour de France winner in 2007 and 2009, added that he was also counting on competing in the Tour of Catalonia from March 22-28 and the Tour of the Basque Country from April 5-10.

But he added: “I’m leaving the door open on the classics, we’ll decide on that later.”

Santos Tour Down Under Race Director, Mike Turtur, today said that the return of Pereiro will be another big boost to the race.

“Pereiro raced here this January and it’s great that he’s decided to come back in 2010,” said Mike Turtur.

“He was a major draw for the crowds and it is great that a cyclist of his calibre has chosen to come back to South Australia for our race.

“It’s tremendous to have two Tour de France winners, with Pereiro and Armstrong, racing in Adelaide again in January.

“The start list is the strongest we’ve ever had, with the likes of Armstrong, Pereiro, Evans, McEwen, Rogers and Greipel.”

Pereiro confirmed that he would start his 2010 season at the Santos Tour Down Under during a media conference at a training camp with his new team Astana.

“I raced at the Tour Down Under this year and the number of people watching the race really impressed me.

It’s incredible, especially the opening criterium,” said Oscar Pereiro.

The full Astana team that will compete in the 2010 Santos Tour Down Under will be announced soon.

The 2010 Santos Tour Down Under will be held in Adelaide and regional South Australia from 17-24 January 2010. For more information, visit www.tourdownunder.com.au.

French newspapers Le Monde and Le Figaro alleged that the team of race winner Alberto Contador and third-placed Lance Armstrong was given an easy ride at the 2009 event.

They quoted a report by AFLD accusing UCI of failing to apply the rules properly to Astana.

In a statement, UCI said the accusations against them were “totally unfounded” and evoked the possibility that they would seek to work “with a neutral partner for anti-doping tests on French soil”.

“UCI considers the method of procedure adopted by (AFLD president) Mr Pierre Bordry and his associates completely inacceptable, having published a unilateral report even though UCI and AFLD had agreed to work together on the testing programme for the Tour,” they added.

Both Le Monde and Le Figaro carried reports that Astana were shown preferential treatment by drug-testing teams at this summer’s race.

“For some teams, the unexpected nature of anti-doping tests did not exist on the Tour,” Le Figaro said, adding that the 10-page AFLD report was to be sent on Monday to the UCI and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The website Le Monde.fr gave details of how Kazakh-backed Astana was allowed “always to have the last tests in the morning, (allowing) more time to go to the tester”.

The daily said AFLD doctors noted that on the morning of July 11 in the Astana team hotel, UCI inspectors intervened to allow Astana riders an extra 45 minutes before testing, which was supposed to be carried out immediately under the rules.

“Such tolerance, granted without proper justification, in the absence of escorts, does not follow the faultless regularity of the procedure, particularly ensuring that no manipulation took place,” the report said.

Other failures to follow the rules concerning all riders are contained in the report.

It also charges that UCI inspectors wrongly labeled tests carried out in team hotels in the mornings and evenings as “outside competition”.

“This error is full of serious consequences,” the report said, noting that the list of substances banned “in competition” is much more extensive than those banned outside.

Astana has had a stormy year with its financial future repeatedly in doubt. After Spain’s Contador won the Tour, his teammate American Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour champion, promptly quit and has joined new American team Radio Shack.

Audio interview with Chris Horner on the crash and his unlucky season.

In addition, Assan Bazayev and Alexandr Vinokourov were involved in the crash. A cut in Vinokourov’s left elbow had to be stitched with five sutures. He further suffered scars and bruises upon the left hip but will be able to start in the fifth Vuelta stage from Tarragona to Vinaròs.

Half of Astana team comprised of the winning team from July’s Tour de France

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (August 28, 2009) — The world’s No. – 1 ranked team Astana has named three-time Amgen Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa, Calif., and 2007 Tour de Georgia winner and former junior world champion Janez Brajkovic of Slovenia to headline a powerful line-up for the upcoming Tour of Missouri, scheduled for September 7 – 13, 2009.

“I’m still recovering from my broken wrist suffered in the Tour de France, but anytime I have the opportunity to line-up for a race of this caliber in my own country, I’m going to make my best effort to participate,” said Leipheimer, who was positioned in the top five overall in the Tour de France when he crashed. “Since I haven’t raced in over a month, it’s hard to give an assessment of my form, but I know our entire team is very excited and motivated for this race.”

In addition to Leipheimer and Brajkovic, Astana’s roster includes: Steve Morabito, Andrey Zeits, Sergey Renev; plus team-winning Tour de France performers and strongmen Gregory Rast, the 2007 Tour of Luxembourg winner and stage winner (team time trial) of this year’s Tour de France, Dmitri Muravyev, a three-time Kazakhstan National Champion in the time trial and Yaroslav Popovych, who is a podium finisher at the Tour of Italy and former stage winner of the Tour de France and America’s Tour de Georgia. The team will be directed by Viatcheslav Ekimov, a thirteen-time Tour de France participant, Olympic gold medalist and winner of numerous major pro races in his career including the 1994 Tour DuPont, then America’s top race.

Leipheimer raced in the first Tour of Missouri in 2007 as part of the Discovery Channel team. Brajkovic recently was crowned Slovenian national champion in the time trial.

“Personally, I’m also looking forward to seeing how the race has grown since my last participation,” added Leipheimer. “This is the Tour of Missouri’s third year and I believe it’s another indication we need more races at this level in this country.”

“We’re very excited Levi has chosen to participate this year. He is one of the world’s super stars in the sport. Being his first race back should be great for everyone,” said Jim Birrell the Tour of Missouri’s race director. “This is the No. 1-ranked team in the world. And, though Lance Armstrong and Alberto Cantador are not on their roster, it’s a very, very good and talented team. The fact that half the team rode on the winning Tour de France team is a testament to the quality of team they are sending to the Tour of Missouri. We’re glad to welcome the top-ranked team to the United States.”

The race begins in St. Louis on Monday, September 7, Labor Day, with a 10-lap, 75-mile circuit race that will be fast and flat and favor a sprinter taking the leader’s jersey. On Tuesday, September 8, the race will transfer south to Ste. Genevieve with a 112.4-mile road race to Cape Girardeau. The terrain is hilly to moderate and features finishing circuits.

On Wednesday, September 9, cyclists will face their toughest challenge of the race, with a hilly 114.3-mile stage in the Northern Ozark Mountains from Farmington to Rolla. After a short transfer on Thursday, September 10, the race will proceed from St. James to Jefferson City, with the circuit finish featuring a steep 300-meter uphill sprint to the finish.

Riders will be able make up time Friday, September 11, during the individual time trial at Sedalia with a 19-mile race against the clock around Missouri’s State Fairgrounds. On Saturday, September 12, cyclists will race from Chillicothe to St. Joseph while hitting moderate to hilly terrain.

The weeklong journey through the Show-Me-State concludes with a hilly circuit through the streets of Kansas City, Sunday, September 13. The Kansas City circuit will feature two king of the mountain points with more than 2,000 feet of climbing over 72 miles.

The upgrade has drawn top pro tour teams Astana, Cervélo TestTeam, Columbia- HTC, Garmin- Slipstream, Liquigas, Saxo Bank and Quickstep, all recent Tour de France teams, of which won 14 of 21 stages of the world’s biggest race. Domestic teams participating in 2009 include BISSELL Pro Cycling Team, BMC Racing, Colovita / Sutter Home presented by Cooking Light, Jelly Belly, Kelly Benefit Strategies, OUCH presented by Maxxis, and Team Type 1. Canada’s top team Planet Energy rounds out the field.

Previously announced were superstars of the sport, including: 2008 Tour of Missouri winner Christian Vandevelde, four-time U.S. National Champion in the time trial David Zabriskie and 2007 Tour of Missouri stage winner Danny Pate, all of team Garmin-Slipstream; Britain’s Mark Cavendish, a 10-time Tour de France stage winner and widely considered the world’s best sprinter; 2007 Tour of Missouri champion George Hincapie; three-time world champion and 2008 Tour of Missouri second place overall finisher Mick Rogers of Australia, all of team Columbia-HTC; Norway’s Thor Hushovd, the sprint jersey winner of this year’s Tour de France and Cervelo TestTeam member Heinrich Haussler, a stage winner at the this year’s Tour de France; Italy’s Franco Pellizotti of the Liquigas-Cannondale team, the 2009 Tour de France KOM Champion and Australia’s Rory Sutherland, the top-ranked rider on the domestic circuit and teammate Floyd Landis, the winner of both the Amgen Tour of California and Tour de Georgia of Team OUCH; team Saxo Bank’s Jens Voigt, former two-time Tour of Germany champion and multiple Tour de France stage winner and teammate J.J. Haedo, the winner of more stages at major American races than anyone the past four years. All rosters will be released next week.

The race will be contested over seven days and seven stages. There will be two circuit races (St. Louis, Kansas City), one individual time trial (Sedalia), and four point to-point road races (Ste. Genevieve to Cape Girardeau; Farmington to Rolla; St. James to Jefferson City; Chillicothe to St. Joseph). The race is sanctioned by USA Cycling and UCI, the international governing body for the sport.

Vinokourov, who recently returned from a two-year doping ban handed out for blood doping at the 2007 Tour de France, is likely to spearhead the Kazakh-backed team’s bid for a top finish in the race’s general classification.

The 35-year-old won the race in 2006.

Astana’s Alberto Contador won last month’s Tour de France, for a second time, after a tough three-week contest which he later said had been made more tense by the inclusion of seven-time champion Lance Armstrong in the team.

Armstrong has since announced his departure from Astana and is set to return to cycling next year as team leader with the new Radio Shack outfit.

Contador has another year’s contract with Astana but is being widely tipped to go elsewhere.

Vinokourov spearheads a team which also includes American Chris Horner, Kazakhs Assan Bazayev and Maxim Iglinskiy, Spaniards Jesus Hernandez, Daniel Navarro, Jose Luis Rubiera and Haimar Zubeldia and Swiss Michael Schar.

A statement from Astana said Vinokourov would also race with the team through 2010.

“From August 24, 2009 Kazakh professional rider Alexandre Vinokourov will be part of Astana cycling Team, the team managed by Johan Bruyneel,” said the statement.

“On that day Bruyneel and Rinus Wagtmans, the authorized representative for the Kazakh authorities, reached an agreement about the arrival of the Asian time trial champion.

“Vinokourov’s first race for the Team will be the Tour of Spain which starts next Saturday in Assen (Netherlands). Vinokourov signed a contract with Team Astana till the end of 2010.”

The seven-time Tour de France champion was competing in the race for the first time in 17 years and fans flocked to the opening stage at the foot of the Wicklow mountains, swamping the Texan for autographs and briefly holding up the start.

Armstrong has not raced on the road since finishing third in the Tour de France behind team mate and rival Alberto Contador.

And British rider Russell Downing of the Candi TV team won the 196 km stage from Powerscourt to Waterford with Astana’s Armstrong finishing 23rd and Mark Cavendish of Columbia trailing in just 68th.

Armstrong is competing for the last time with the Astana team and ends his season when the three-day 576km race finishes in Cork.

But Armstrong, who last rode in the competition in 1992, was quick to declare his priorities as he prepares for his cancer foundation’s Livestrong summit in Dublin.

“That’s the most important thing,” he said at the start line.

Armstrong will not have much time for rest and relaxation after this weekend’s challenging 576km race, with an international cancer summit to open in Dublin on Monday.

The 37-year-old cancer survivor said the Livestrong conference was the most important part of his Irish trip.

“We get to race for a few days and then sit down and talk about the global burden,” he said.

“We’ve had a lot of great help and support from the people of Dublin and the people of Ireland.”

Astana team boss Johann Bruyneel has suggested the tour was not a hard race, with the biggest risks being bad weather and the steep St Patrick’s hill finish in Cork on Sunday.

“It’s steep. It’s completely straight and steep,” Armstrong said.

“Sunday is a tough day, but every day is narrow roads and hills here and there.”

The second stage on Saturday covers 198km from Clonmel to Killarney.