Astana Cycling Team

Alberto Contador has offered this afternoon a press conference prior to the Criterium International and having recognized the course of Sunday's time trial, after rising yesterday the L'Ospedale pass, where ends tomorrow's stage. Contador has said he is running on the Criterium “to improve my form and compete for the race”.

Photo by Jacinto Vidarte

- What have you done since your arrival in Corsica?
- Yesterday when I arrived just went to see the climb of the Ospedale. It was amazing, because at first it was a very good weather, but in the top there was much fog, rain and cold. This morning I went to see Sunday’s time trial. Read the rest of this entry →

Vinokourov with Contador at the Criterium International

“It’s important to run with Contador”

Alexandre Vinokourov will participate in the Criterium International Saturday alongside Alberto Contador for the first time this season in competition, at the head of Team Astana.

A race that takes place in three stages, with a road race, a race of mountain and another against the clock.

"It's important to run together with Alberto, says Kazakh rider, it can create landmarks and reflexes between us. We must give him the opportunity to prepare for the upcoming Tour de France in the best conditions. For this reason the team must show that we are ready to reach its goals with him. We are all working in this direction. "

The Kazakh leader is recovering from his hurt in Tirreno-Adriatico.

"Since the Tirreno-Adriatico race I didn’t run for any but I trained very hardly at home, around Monaco. I suffer a little from my elbow since my crash in Tirreno but my feelings on the bike are good. The Critérium International is a special race but its very interesting for runners specialists of big cycling tours like Alberto and me. It will also give us an overview of the shape of our opponents before the Ardennes classics. For my part, I am very motivated to show that I am gradually returning to my level. "

 Stage 4, March 25: Oliana - Asco "La vostra energia", 209.7 km 

The old fox Jens Voigt launched one his crazy attacks in Stage 4 of La Volta today and carried the young cub Rein Taaramae in his teeth to the goal. Voigt won the stage in an exhibition of superb early-season form, and what’s more, he demonstrated just what a rider at almost 40 can do if he keeps his priorities straight.

The Estonian Taaramae, who was awarded the same finishing time as Voigt, is also on great form and has been entertaining the fans for weeks.

The fourth stage was designed to have a dramatic ending, with two climbs of the 2^nd category Alto de Paumeres at the end, the second occuring in the final 20 km. After a night of rain, the day stayed cool and cloudy, but the roads, fortunately for the final descent to the goal, were dry. A headwind in the second half of the stage was just intense enough to add a bit of extra challenge.

Astana’s Alexsandr Dyanchenko distinguished himself in an 8-man escape of some duration which got away at 47 kilometers.

The Paumeres was the deciding factor, taxing the riders first at 159.7 km, then cracking apart the escape group and reorganizing the “cabeza” on the second pass in the last 20 km. Voigt (Saxo Bank) attacked at 181 km, taking Efimkin, Bellotti and Van de Walle with him. When the others came unlatched, the German was left alone at the crest of the climb with a 10” gap. But the descent on the Paumeres was like lightening on broad smooth tarmac, and two youngsters, Taarame (Cofidis) and Roman Kreuziger (Liguigas) caught the raider Voigt and the combined momentum of the three soon got them a 20” gap. Kreuziger fell back to chaser status and was absorbed by the pack at within 10 km to goal. Voigt and Taaramae fought bodaciously on, achieving an admirable 30” gap on the storming pack, which they maintained to the finish line.

Astana continued to ride well, taking more steps toward their goal of putting together a Tour de France squad for Contador in July. Josep Jufré was 7^th in the stage, Pereiro 12^th and Tiralongo 22nd, while Jesús Hernández continues to nurse his knee back to health and the rest of the team continues in support. Honestly, the guys are not too shabby!

Results:

Stage 4, Top 10
1. 176 VOIGT, Jens GER TEAM SAXO BANK, 4:43:28
2. 208 TAARAMAE, Rein EST COFIDIS, s.t.
3. 158 VOSS, Paul GER TEAM MILRAM, 0:34 Read the rest of this entry →

Contador rides the Criterium International 2010, March 27-28

Photo ContadorInfo

Alberto Contador arrived in Ajaccio this afternoon, ready to take the start in the Critérium International this weekend. This will be the first time the event has ever been staged on the island of Corsica. The race has a rather unusual format made up of a Saturday stage with summit finish, with a double-header on Sunday morning consisting of a road stage over flat terrain followed by a short 7-kilometer time trial.

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Riding with Alberto Contador will be Alexander Vinokourov, Dimitri Fofonov, Maxim Gourov, Roman Kireyev, Dani Navarro, Benjamín Noval and Bolat Raimbekov, under the direction of Guido Bontempi. Alberto has scheduled a press conference for 3:30 in the afternoon tomorrow, Friday, March 28, at the Hotel Goelan, situated at La Marine in Porto Vecchio.

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Jacinto Vidarte
Jefe de Prensa / Press Officer

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See the Alberto Contador Notebook for stage reports, comments and photos during the Critérium International

Stage 3, March 24: La Vall d'en Bas (Sant Esteve d'en Bas) - Las Seu d'Urgell, 185.9 km

Xavier Tondo wins Stage 3

• Cervelo’s Xavier Tondo cooking with early season form
• He follows up great show at Paris-Nice with Stage 3 win in Catalunya today

Roses are blooming anew for our man Óscar Pereiro, and he showed that vitality today by launching an attack at 141 km with Xavier Tondo (Cervelo) and Joachim Rodríguez (Katusha). Bad luck that Óscar seized with cramp, but Tondo and Rodríguez made the effort stick—in spite of the encroaching stomp of Luis León Sánchez.
Tondo won the stage by a hair’s breadth over Rodríguez, with Luisle at 48 seconds. Joachim Rodríguez is now the new overall leader of the Volta a Catalunya 2010.
Three hot stars on the rampage, three threats, three troublemakers for Astana at Paris-Nice – what a shame Alberto Contador is not here to gamble with these guys!
The hors categorie Pedraforca and three second-category climbs marked the first day of serious climbing at La Volta 2010. A number of breakaways tried but ultimately failed, including a really nice go by Astana’s Gorazd Stangelj in an escape group of 13 that lasted for more than 60 kilometers.
Aspiring teams in the pack took control at various times: RadioShack drove hard to pull back the Stangelj group which also contained their rider Impey. Katusha, Liquigas and Euskaltel also did their share.
Three Astana riders finished in the top 20 today: Tiralongo, Jufré and Pereiro, and all three remain in competitive positions with margins of 1:44 or less from the leader.

Points of interest:

• Biciciclismo considered Stage 3, on paper, a day for escapes that wouldn’t win win the Volta, but might lose it.
• Tondo showed ambition early by getting into a 21-man group at 13 kilometers, with a number of strong riders like Garate and Siutsou.
• More GC ambitions were revealed by the order of passage over the final climb: 1) Tondo 2) Rodríguez 3) Frank Schleck, 4) Kreuziger
• Margins in the GC were razor-thin at the start today.
• Jonathan Castroviejo (Euskaltel) remains leader of the sprint classification.
• David Gutiérrez (Footon-Servetto) is the new KOM.
• Some favorites who lost time today: Leipheimer (now at 2:00), Klöden (2:20), Voss (2:18), Menchov (4:43)

Results:

Stage 3 – Top 10

1. 197 TONDO, Xavier ESP CERVELO TEST TEAM 4:43:23
2. 146 RODRIGUEZ, Joaquin ESP TEAM KATUSHA, s.t.
3. 28 SANCHEZ, Luis Leon ESP CAISSE D`EPARGNE, 0:48 Read the rest of this entry →

Astana Cycling Team - List of riders engaged for Gent-Wevelgem 28 March 2010 (Belgium):

• Assan BAZAYEV (KAZ)
• Allan DAVIS (AUS)
• Valeriy DMITRIYEV (KAZ)
• Enrico GASPAROTTO (ITA)
• Andriy GRIVKO (UKR)
• Maxim IGLINSKIY (KAZ)
• Valentin IGLINSKIY (KAZ)
• Mirko SELVAGGI (ITA)

Sport manager: Laurenzo LAPAGE

Astana Cycling Team - list of riders engaged for CRITERIUM INTERNATIONAL (27-28 March 2010):

• Alberto CONTADOR (SPA)
• Dimitri FOFONOV (KAZ)
• Maxim GOUROV (KAZ)
• Roman KIREYEV (KAZ)
• Daniel NAVARRO (SPA)
• Benjamin NOVAL (SPA)
• Alexandre VINOKOUROV (KAZ)
• Bolat RAIMBEKOV (KAZ)

Sport manager: Guido BONTEMPI

Astana Cycling Team
Communication Department

Stage 2 - Tuesday, March 23: Salt - Banyoles, 182.6 km

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Today’s race was the story of two adventurers, Jonathan Castroviejo and Peter Stetina, versus a dense and mighty pack who tracked them down and set up Mark Cavendish for another sprint win.

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Two twenty-two year-olds, Euskaltel’s Castroviejo and Stetina, an American riding for Garmin, broke away at kilometer 9 and stayed away until kilometer 170. Behind them, it was an uneventful day. HTC-Columbia, Lampre and Milram shared the work of controlling the race until Caisse d’Epargne stepped up to do a turn in the last 10 kilometers.

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Points of interest:

• The stage was ridden in pleasant spring weather.
• Andy Schleck was DNS today.
• The break was caught in the last of three laps of a circuit that occupied the final 50 kilometers of the race, starting at Banyoles.
• The entire peloton minus 8 stragglers finished in the same time as Cavendish.
• Castroviejo won the intermediate sprints and is the new leader of the velocistas.
• Stetina went over the first-category Alt Els Ángels first and is the new leader in the montaña.
• Astana riders fared well and margins are slim between all favorites.

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Results:

Stage 2- top five
1. Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columcia), 4:15:46
2. Juan José Haedo (Team Saxo Bank), s.t.
3. Aitor Galdos (Euskaltel-Euskadi), s.t.
4. Samuel Dumolin (Cofidis), s.t.
5. Michel Kreder (Garmin-Transitions) s.t.

Stage 2 - Astana riders
21. Josep Jufré, s.t. Read the rest of this entry →