Astana Cycling Team

Photo girodeltrentino from Flickr

By winning the 1st stage against the clock of the Tour of Trentino today, Alexander enrolled for the first time of his plamares a victory in Italy. It is also his 4th success in a cons-trial since his comeback in August 2009.
But most of all, it opens up great opportunities for the rest of the season.

The Kazakh leader declared "It is satisfying because it confirms my growing power. My training in altitude in Tenerife has worth it. But let’s keep our feet on the ground, we won’t fight to keep the yellow jersey. The Tour Trentino is a final preparation before Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro d'Italia. "

--
Astana Cycling Team
Communication Department

Alberto Contador in the Ardennes

“I found Huy even harder than I remembered”

Photo ContadorInfo

Alberto Contador today did the last 60 km of the Fleche Wallonne and twice climbed the Wall of Huy, the emblematic finish of a race that he says, “I found it even harder than I remembered”.
“Today we saw the last 60 km of the race and everything went pretty well. There are climbs that I knew from 2007, but there have been some changes in the final. We have had a good day, we have seen everything and now just need the legs works”, Alberto said after returning to the team hotel. Read the rest of this entry →

Alberto Contador and the Audi A6 2.7D with which he has traveled to Liege

Alberto Contador arrived today around 15:00 hours at the hotel that his team booked for the week of the Ardennes classics, after a long journey by car of almost 24 hours and 1900 kms between Santiago de Compostela, where yesterday won his third Tour of Castilla and León, and the Belgian city of Liege.

Contador traveled with teammate Benjamin Noval. On Sunday, after the fifth and final stage of the Tour of Castilla and Leon and the corresponding awards ceremony, Astana riders nominated to run the Fleche Wallonne and Liege, embarked around 16:30 on the journey toward Pau, where today morning the had to take the high-speed train to Paris.

During the trip, however, Contador and Noval preferred the alternative to train and continue by car, since it seemed more direct and comfortable. While Pereiro, Jufré and Stangelj continued with the original plan, the first two slept in Poitiers after an initial phase of 1,200 kilometers, and this morning, after 7 hours of sleep, did the rest of the trip to Liege, where they arrived around 15:00 hours, after nearly 24 hours of travel.

Alberto, after a light lunch, spent the rest of the afternoon to do a gentle workout, but took the opportunity to come to recognize a small portion of the course of Liege-Bastogne-Liege in the company of some ccycloturists, with whom he made 30 kilometers. Noval preferred rode on the roller, waiting for tomorrow, when the whole team will made the recognition of the latter part of the Flèche Wallonne.

“It has been a hard journey”, said Contador, “but we have done it relatively comfortable and fast. At the end we were right not to take the train because there it was really full of people, as our teammates have told us. Was not an advantage”.

Last Sunday, during the last stage of the Tour of Castilla and Leon

(Automatic translation. Forgive inaccuracies).

–
Jacinto Vidarte
Jefe de Prensa / Press Officer

Team Astana on Giro del Trentino:

• Scott DAVIS (AUS)
• Alexandr DYACHENKO (KAZ)
• Roman KIREYEV (KAZ)
• Bolat RAIMBEKOV (KAZ)
• Sergey RENEV (KAZ)
• Paolo TIRALONGO (ITA)
• Mirko SELVAGGI (ITA)
• Alexandre VINOKOUROV (KAZ)

DS: Alexandr SHEFER

Team Astana on Fleche Wallonne:

• Alberto CONTADOR (SPA)
• Dimitri FOFONOV (KAZ)
• Andriy GRIVKO (UKR)
• Maxim IGLINSKY (KAZ)
• Josep JUFRE (SPA)
• Benjamin NOVAL (SPA)
• Oscar PEREIRO (SPA)
• Gorazd STANGELJ (SLO)

DS: Laurenzo LAPAGE

–
Astana Cycling Team
Communication Department

Alberto Contador in the Tour of Castilla and Leon  - “Igor has been very strong”

Photo - ContadorInfo

Alberto Contador congratulated today at the winner of the stage, Igor Antón, because he deserved the win after the big stage he did. “Everyone likes to win, but Igor has been very strong”, said Contador about his third place.
“For me it is a good result”, he continued. “At the end it was 13 seconds, which are not few, but we will see tomorrow how it turns the time trial”. The stage was a fight between four climbers and wind also played it’s role. “Yes, I knew there would be wind, but have also affected the interests of each rider. When I saw how strong Igor attacked, I have been a little more conservative thinking also in the riders I had on my wheel. I was aware of what was happening behind and that Igor does not catch too many seconds”.
For the time trial, Alberto said he would like “to loose less seconds. It is a short 15 kilometers time trial, and quite hard, that will suit to Igor, but I will try to do what I can”.
After the Criterium International and allergy problems, Contador has felt much better than in Corsica. “Yes, I went a lot better. Although it is now a worse time, with a rainy day there is a much cleaner ambient”, he said. And about Morredero pass, acknowledged that isn’t one of most beautiful. “I had seen a little it’s profile and people explained it to me. There is not a climb too good for me. It is very hard, but ith too long breaks and there is too much influence of the wind”. Regarding today's rivals, Alberto said that this shows “the high level of this race and how hard this tour is, because we are four pure climbers on the overall”.

(Automatic translation. Forgive inaccuracies).

--
Jacinto Vidarte
Jefe de Prensa / Press Officer

Photo by Astana Team Communication Department

Maxim Iglinskiy will start on Sunday in the classic, Amstel Gold Race with personal ambitions as he will celebrate this day his 29th birthday. In the top 10 world rankings for two weeks, the Kazakh rider proves he has become one of the pillars of the Astana team. Before leaving for Netherlands, he answered our questions.

What do you think your season start?
“I think this is my best season start since I am among professionals. I became more regular and mostly I can achieve my goals on the big races. My victory at Strade Bianche in March is the best proof, and all my results on the classics, too.

Does being in the top 10 world ranking give you new goals?
It is mainly a sign that I have reached a significant milestone. I'm 29, and maturity in cycling is an added advantage. Obviously, it allowed me to see further and perhaps even higher. The ambitions always come with confidence. I can say today that the confidence is there. I await the result with serenity.

What has changed for you since past years?
I've never been anxious to succeed or go faster than necessary. I know my qualities and my strength. I’ve always known what I ‘m able to do, just and wait and see. I have already won stages on the Pro-Tour, one in the Tour de Romandie and the other in the Dauphine Libere. These two successes helped me to grow even more. Today I'm at an important stage of my career. Read the rest of this entry →

“The best, the work of attentive team and has been”

Photo by Astana Team Communication Department

The second stage of the Tour of Castilla and Leon was decided on a sprint after a very moved final where the wind caused cuts in the bunch. Astana, with Rabobank, took the initiative and Alberto Contador was always in front. At the end, only Plaza and Marchante, among theorics favorites, lost time, but Contador, after the bad experience of Paris-Nice, might finish happy after a stega of these characteristics. “The best thing was the team's work and taht it has been attentive”, he said.

“At this stage there has been a bit of everything”, he explained, “with lots of rain, fog and wind. we must be very attentive at all times and the team did a great job. We had to control because 4 riders scape and have caught a pretty big difference, but at the end we have worked with Cervelo, who wanted to keep the leader a looking for a new win at the sprint. At the end”, continued Alberto, “we knew it was windy and we have been very attentive. In the last 20 kilometers we turned left and the wind was favorable from one side. We knew it was going to cut. We have taken the initiative together with Rabobank and both took advantage. At the end I do not know if there have been differences, but the best has been the team's work and taht it has been attentive”.

Contador is now awaiting the queen stage, arriving at the summit of Morredero, that he doesn’t know. “I'll see how the legs goes tomorrow, but now they are more or less well and I hope to pass a good day. The climb is not too consistent, there are some breaks and it’s not good for me that I don’t know it, but I’ll ask to my teammates. tomorrow is the most important day, of course, although if some of us remaining on a short time, the race will be decided next day on the time trial”, he concluded.

–
Astana Cycling Team
Communication Department

Alberto Contador finished safely the first stage of the Tour of Castilla and Leon, in which Astana controlled the race to avoid surprises before the key day, next Friday. “It has been a very nervous stage because you know that this area is windy and it has made any nervousness”, said Alberto.

At the finish, however, all ended as planned, with a sprint and no differences at overall. “The team has been very attentive at all times”, said Contador. “We've been ahead in case if there was some movement, but at the end we saved the day without problems”.

The day threatened rain, but eventually the peloton was not wet. WWe've been very lucky”, said Alberto. "We got a lot of clothes at the start but we were lucky and we just wet a little”. He and the rest of the favorites have pass the day with no problems. “You see people in front, like Igor Anton, Machado, Menchov, and Mosquera, all very attentive, but on a day like today can not have conclusions”.

Tomorrow might be different, but Contador thinks the key is the Morredero. “In this Tour you never know because there is usually wind, but certainly the stage to mark the race will be the Morredero”. While waiting, Contador tune their feelings, which yesterday were not extraordinary. “Today I have not gone with the pedal rithm that I like, but I came here very relaxed, thinking of the classics. I rested for four days and that might make today and tomorrow be a little less agile than usual”.

–
Astana Cycling Team
Communication Department