Astana Cycling Team

17 stage - Tourmalet

Hello everyone from the Tour!
Today was my first day on this great race.
The day was long and full of impressions, I would like to tell about many things but I’m almost out of energy and dope is not welcomed in Astana. So I’m sorry for briefness.
The morning starts with personnel’s awakening at about 7am, everyone is coming for breakfast where I was invited as well. It was calm and drowsily until Yura Kulishkin appeared, in 5 minutes everybody laughed and joked a lot but not for a long as there was hard day ahead.
Masseurs went to prepare food and water for racers, I mean they filled the bottles with water and put jelly and energy bars in to the bags.

Individual bag is prepared for Contador as he has his preferences.

I will tell later how and with what the bottles are filled.
Technicians meanwhile pumped up tyres and loaded bikes on the technical cars . Photo 9090, 9092, 9094.
Work of technicians deserve the individual article and I will try to prepare it on my return home.
The team went out for breakfast on this day’s schedule at 9-15 am. I was allowed to make a few photos.

During the breakfast Sport directors had the last meeting before the race, worked out tactics and strategies.
I met the team of fans in the hall, I think they don’t need to be introduced as they are well known already.

I met and took a picture of a few teams of Astana’s fans. I will put them all together and let you see later.
At 10-45 the teams started to get out from hotels to buses.

It was about 10 km to the start point.
Buses and technical cars of all the teams gathered on the small patch of the Po city. Fans were waiting for near these buses. The biggest crowds were near the teams of Astana, RadioShak and Saxo Bank. Everybody was waiting for appearance of their idols.
The racers were convoyed with encouraging hooting. Every fan tried to touch a sportsmen.

This morning I shook hands with all Astana racers, and also with Popov, Menshov, Ivanov , Armstrong and also taped on the Evans’s shoulder .-)

Sportsmen signed in start list and the start was given. Caravan of technical cars directed to Tourmalet .

I and the press attache Blandine Roquelet drived to the finish point with roundabout ways. We drived the car for about 2 hours, then 20 minutes by the small bus, after by the cableway to the pass.
The rain was changing into fog all the day. The race you saw yourself.
We were not allowed to be on the finish point, probably because of intensive guard of France President who appeared on the race.
I with masseurs and team’s doctor were waiting for our racers in 50 meters behind the finish line.

Their task was to change racer’s wet clothes as racers had to walk after 4 km to the bus.
All racers arrived to the finish completely wet, tired, covered with hoarfrost but with feeling of winners, yellow T-shirt stayed on the shoulders of our captain.
Alberto was invited for rewarding and dope test.
Vino was attacked by journalists with microphones, video and photo cameras.

At last there was the long way to the hotel, massage, dinner and sleep.

All details will follow in the next time.

Specially for www.astanafans.com
Sponsored by www.kazduco.com