Astana Cycling Team

By Bonnie D. Ford
ESPN.com

Three-time Tour of California winner Levi Leipheimer has signed a two-year deal with Team RadioShack, choosing to continue racing with Lance Armstrong, manager Johan Bruyneel and an organization Leipheimer says is the best fit for him.

"The last two years of my career have been the best, and that's because of the team Johan assembled," said Leipheimer, who also followed Bruyneel to Astana after the 2007 season when the Discovery Channel team folded.

Leipheimer, who will turn 36 in October, is the latest rider to join a roster that will be loaded with experience and somewhat shorter on younger talent, at least for the 2010 season.

Led by Armstrong, who will try to win his eighth Tour de France next year, RadioShack has announced the signings of support riders Jose Luis Rubiera of Spain and Sergio Paulinho of Portugal. Several other riders from Astana -- not including reigning Tour champion Alberto Contador -- are expected to migrate to the new U.S.-based team. Sept. 1 is the date when teams are free to discuss transfers. Read the rest of this entry →

CONTADOR TO STAY WITH ASTANA
August 31 - The Tour champion will see out his contract
Contador: “Setting up a team with Alonso is something that has to be done well in advance"

The Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador is resigned to staying connected to his current team, Astana, with whom he has an “existing contract,” one which prevents him, for the time being, from moving to another team, although he has “quite a few” offers. He also states that a team with Fernando Alonso will not emerge at this time, because it is something that must be done “a long time in advance.”

“If I hadn’t had an existing contract, I would not have stayed with Astana. Quite a few teams are interested in me, but I’ve got one more year of contract and we’ll see how it works out,” said Contador on Telemadrid’s “The Early Circle.”

In this sense, the Pinteño referred to rumors about a team created by Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso. “We’ve talked a lot with Fernando Alonso about this possibility, but it’s something that must be done a long time in advance. Next year, God will say,” he said with caution. Read the rest of this entry →

Current World's No. 1-ranked Team Astana Confirms Top American Levi Leipheimer and 2007 Tour de Georgia winner Janez Brajkovic for upcoming Tour of Missouri
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." Read the rest of this entry →

Chris Horner's Tour of Spain diary: Keeping upright on the cobblestones
Posted by Chris Horner, Special to The Oregonian August 30, 2009 13:51PM

EMMEN, Netherlands -- Today's stage of the Tour of Spain was one those stages that the riders racing for the overall win hate to do. With almost no chance of making time on the favorites, and at least a hundred chances of losing time throughout the day, it was going to be a very nervous day for many.

When we arrived at the start town this morning, the clouds were dark and there was a high chance for rain predicted. The rain did come, but only just enough to wet the roads and get the bikes all dirty. This gave us at least one less thing to worry about. Read the rest of this entry →

Chris Horner's Tour of Spain diary: Best laid plans sometimes don't help when the racing starts
 

Posted by Chris Horner, Special to The Oregonian August 29, 2009 13:36PM

ASSEN, Netherlands - Not so long ago it seemed like I had months to prepare for the Tour of Spain. Yet somehow the time flew by and Saturday's start arrived sooner than I expected.
Still, the three days leading up to the opening prologue went almost perfectly. It helped that I had only a few things to focus on before starting the last of this year's cycling grand tours with my Astana teammates.

No. 1: Staying thin. It sounds easy enough but it definitely is not. Two or three extra pounds can change a rider's fitness and ability, and gaining any more than that can ruin a shot to do well in the overall classification. So we all spend a fair amount of time obsessing over food. It is a tricky balance - eat too little and bonk; eat too much and pay a heavy price in the mountains. Each morning I hopped on the scale and was happy with what I saw. When I stepped on Saturday it registered around 139 pounds, which, knowing that the team scale is off a little, means I'm around 142 or 143 pounds going into the start of the race. For me, that is a perfect weight to start a three-week race such as the Tour of Spain. Read the rest of this entry →

 oregonlive.com

 
Chris Horner's Tour of Spain diary: Ready to contend at cycling's last grand tour after a surprising diagnosis - asthma
Posted by Chris Horner, Special to The Oregonian August 28, 2009 13:43PM

UTRECHT, Netherlands - Today is the last day of rest before the Tour of Spain starts with Saturday's opening prologue. The Astana Team arrived in the Netherlands on Wednesday and has spent the time since then relaxing and previewing the prologue course to prepare ourselves for the opening battle. The team has come with a strong group of riders, including Haimar Zubeldia, Alexander Vinokourov and myself riding for the overall win for Astana.

At the hotel, the atmosphere around the team is fantastic. The season so far has been great, and the team is riding high on the successes we've accomplished so far. This has made us all feel relaxed while still remaining motivated to keep the momentum rolling in the third grand tour of the year. Read the rest of this entry →

August 29 - September 20 - Vuelta a Espana: Vinokourov !!!, Bazayev, Horner, Iglinsky, Zubeldia, Hernandez, Navarro, Rubiera, Schar, Kloden, Vaitkus, Kireyev, Dyachenko, Brajkovic
September 7-13 - Tour of Missouri: Leipheimer, Brajkovic, Morabito, Muravyev, Popovych, Rast, Renev, Zeits
September 14-20 - Tour de Sochi: ???
October 1-4 - Franco-Belge: Dmitriyev, Kupeshov, Kireyev, Morabito, Raimbekov, Rast, Renev, Zeits
October 8 - Coppa Sabatini: ???
October 8 - Paris-Bourges: Horner, Dmitriyev, Kireyev, Morabito, Raimbekov, Rast, Renev, Schar, Vaitkus
October 10 - Giro dell’Emilia: ???
October 11 - G.P. Beghelli: ???
October 11 - Paris-Tours: Horner, Dmitriyev, Kireyev, Morabito, Raimbekov, Rast, Renev, Schar, Vaitkus
October 14 - Milano-Torino: Horner, Brajkovic, Kireyev, Morabito, Renev, Schar, Zeits
October 15 - Tour of Piemonte: Kireyev, Kupeshov, Morabito, Renev, Schar, Zeits
October 17 - Giro di Lombardia: Horner, Brajkovic, Kireyev, Morabito, Renev, Schar, Zeits

PRESS RELEASE
AUGUST 24, 2009

Kazakh professional rider Alexandr Vinokourov will be part of Astana Cycling Team, the team managed by Johan Bruyneel. On August 24, 2009 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 (the Netherlands). Vinokourov (Petropavlovsk - September 16th, 1973) won the Tour of Spain in 2006. He signed a contract with Team Astana till the end of 2010.

The team line-up for the Tour of Spain (Spain) August 29 through September 20, 2009:

Riders: Assan Bazayev, Maxim Iglinskiy, Jesús Hernández, Chris Horner, Daniel Navarro, José Luis Rubiera, Michael Schär, Alexandr Vinokourov & Haimar Zubeldia

Directors: Sean Yates & Alexandr Shefer