Astana Cycling Team

Alberto Contador arrived in Burgos with his team mate Jesus Hernandez, and did together the last training before the Tour of Castilla and Leon, which begins tomorrow with a course that likes very much the leader of Astana. “It's a tourn that I faced with enthusiasm”, he says, “is a nice race with a final climb in the third stage, a time trial in the fourth and the final in Santiago de Compostela”. Contador finished second overall past year, behind his former team mate Levi Leipheimer, and has won the 2007 and 2008 editions.

Alberto Contador starts the race “with motivation and to see how legs respond because the last comtetition was nearly two weeks ago”, although his aim is double. “Of course, as I always say, where I go I like being at a high level and be ahead in the standings, but I don’t know what is my level here, nor the rest of the riders. And it will be also a preparation for the classics, Fleche and Liege, though these races I am aware that I start thinking more to gain experience, because I still don’t know them well and there are riders who are better than me”.

Alberto rode this morning with a new bike, designed especially for him. This is a Tarmac SL3 “with a design that has made Specialized based on the idea of the Triple Crown, with the yellow of the Tour, the Giro's pink and red jersey of the Vuelta, which changes this year. It is an aggressive design, personalized and I like it a lot”.

Specialized plans to build a very limited number of replicas of this new Alberto’s bike to be launched in the coming months and for which orders are already being received. Meanwhile, Alberto maybe can upload it to the podium in the Tour of Castilla and Leon, although he is very prudent. “Well, I would like, but we will to see how things are going. I hope I can race well with this bike ... because if I don’t, I’ll change it again”, he jokes.

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Astana Cycling Team
Communication Department

Assan Bazayev feels better. He resumed training yesterday, two weeks after his terrible fall at the first stage of Three Days of De Panne.

The Kazakh rider was seriously injured in the face and mostly the nose.

But he should not race again before the Tour of Switzerland in June.

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Astana Cycling Team
Communication Department

Astana's roster for the XXV VUELTA CICLISTA CASTILLA Y LEÓN (Spain), April 14-18:

• Alberto Contador (Spa)
• David de la Fuente (Spa)
• Jesús Hernández (Spa)
• Josep Jufré (Spa)
• Daniel Navarro (Spa)
• Benjamín Noval (Spa)
• Gorazd Stangelj (Slo)

Directeur sportif: Guiseppe Martinelli

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Astana Cycling Team
Communication Department

Photo © by Emmanuel Isnard

Photo: Baza in his National Champion jersey at Tour of Luxembourg

Baza talks about the 2009 season

From "The Secret of Assan Bazayev’s Success" by Zhanar Utesheva, sports.kz, July 2009

Assan, tell us about the [2009] team?

We have a scratch team. We have a lot of foreigners, mainly the English-speaking. Ex-racers of Team Discovery who came with Bruyneel. The Spaniards talk more among themselves. We also try to communicate separately with each other. Lance, Leiphiemer, the Swiss hold a commonality. In terms of riders, there is an atmosphere of normalcy, there are no conflicts, all are very friendly.

Communicate in English?

Yes, basically, we talk in English. I know Spanish. When I signed a contract with Liberty Seguros, I studied six months of Spanish language courses. So that I can explain.

The goal that you set, does not coincide with the objectives of your leadership?

Yes, it happens. Here at the Tour of Luxembourg there was an incident when I was wearing the yellow leader’s jersey for the third stage. In principle, I could win this race. But the team did not help me. Only Kazakhstanians – Dmitriev, Raimbek, Iglinsky helped. But foreigners did not support me.

There was even a situation that we were not paid a salary, although the federation assured us the money was available. Our manager told Swiss rider Gregory Rast that the leadership says not to wear the jersey advertising the logo of Astana. After two days, I wear this jersey. I asked about advertising, and I said that we are bound to have advertising. Perhaps this also influenced a somewhat strained relationship with Bruyneel. The next day, the foreigners did not communicate with me. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by the Astana Cycling Team - Communication Department

With his beautiful 8th place Sunday in the Tour of Flanders, a Pro-Tour event, Maxim Iglinskiy advanced in the top ten in the world ranking established last week. In fact, the Kazakh rider from Astana now occupies 7th place with 116 points, Alberto Contador is in 9th with 107 points.

In the team standings, Team Astana is now 4th in the World Ranking pending future major events of the season.

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Astana Cycling Team
Communication Department

Photo by the Astana Cycling Team - Communication department

Maxim Iglinsky rode a perfect race today in the Tour of Flanders. The Kazakh rider finished in 8th place in the difficult Belgian race. He arrived with the chase group behind winner Fabian Cancellara.

Astana Cycling Team
Communication Department

(From an article by Zhanar Utesheva titled "The Secret of Assan Bazayev's Success" published at sports.kz in July 2009)

(Remember that Baza was the National Road Race Champion of Kazakhstan at the time.)

We awaited his visit to Astana with special anticipation. First, because he is not a frequent visitor in Astana, and in Kazakhstan in general. Secondly, he is truly a hero for our time. Third it is simply a pleasure to meet a man who by his example proves that the Kazakhstan School of Sports can compete with other world powers.

Assan Bazayev. The man who is strongly linked with Astana. He was born and raised in Tselinograd. First steps, first bike, first love, the first victory. Family. Wife. Son. And, of course, racer with Astana. We could not miss this excellent opportunity, to meet with Assan during his visit to the capital. Therefore, today we present an interview with the capital's most famous racer, the national champion, one of the fastest racers in the peloton, and just a charming and open person.

The road to the sport

Assan, an issue we cannot ignore is how and when you became tied to this life of cycling? Why this sport?

Why cycling? Mm, got into it accidentally. At age eleven I met a friend who went to the cycling section, he invited me. I enrolled from nothing else to do. That's all. And so there I was.The truth is, no one knew then that everything would turn out. Read the rest of this entry →