Astana Cycling Team

www.kessiakoff.com

Right now I'm at Frankfurt airport, on my way back from Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan (just if someone hasn't realized by now ;-)). I was there with three other European riders from the team, as well as our main sports director and a couple of other staff and Kazakh team members. We were there to represent the team and to be guests at the track world cup, held in the new impressive velodrom which was finished only last year. It was also great to finally get to see the city and country which I represent as I train and race throughout the world.We were very well looked after, having a great time despite the fact that this trip was in the middle of our vacation.

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albertocontadornotebook.info

Alberto Contador - winner of three Tours, two Giros and a Vuelta - has taken the most important trophy of his life today in a ceremony at Santo Domingo de Silos church in Pinto.

In his home-town church, before the watchful eyes of family members and closest friends, Alberto escorted his lifelong sweetheart Macarena to the altar, where they were married at midday.

Macarena Pescador, 26, and Alberto, who will soon be 29, have been together for more than ten years. They met in Pinto when she was 15 and he was 17, and have never separated.

Macarena has been with Alberto during the best of times and the worst of times. From long before his first post-surgery victory in the 2005 Tour Down Under, through the controversies that the champion has been thrust into by virtue of his fame, Macarena has been the constant support to whom he has dedicated scores of victories. Read the rest of this entry →

caspionet.kz
The first stage World Cycle Track Cup of the new season will start on November 4 in Astana. Kazakhstan’s Astana-based cycle track will see racers from 44 professional and national teams from all over the world. The list of the tournament’s participants includes world and Olympic champions. Both the national team and the recently established professional team Track team Astana will be representing Kazakhstan at the event. The club is headed by the retired renowned track cyclist of Kazakhstan, the repeated winner of World Cup stages, Vadim Kravchenko.

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www.velonation.com

The Astana road cycling team is getting a brother with the Track Team Astana. While the track team itself was founded last winter it steps up its program now. Professional riders will be racing under the guidance of Vadim Kravchenko, reports sport.nur.kz. The team will have its first appearance at home, with the World Cup being fought out in Astana, Kazakhstan, November 4 to 6.

Kravchenko is a junior World Champion on the track. Besides head coach he will also serve as the General Manager. The federation does not expect wonders. "The Track Team Astana is just at the beginning of the career, so we are not waiting for big victories at the next World Cup." Krachenkov said that regular participation in international events will allow the team to properly prepare for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
There will be a women's team as well, headed by experienced Natalia Stefano and Rima Lushchenko, the latter being from Astana.

During the track World Cup, Astana's road racer Andrey Kashechkin will go for a new country hour record. He won't aim to beat the world record by Czech Ondřej Sosenka rider of 49.7 kilometers, but hopes to set a new best mark for Kazakhstan.

www.inrng.com

Flashback to July and Alexander Kolobnev tested positive in the Tour de France. It was the only doping scandal of the 2011 race and the media besieged the Château de Salles, the Katusha team’s overnight accommodation. Some riders and team staff went to police station, adding to the tension.

Except now the verdict has fallen and it’s far less dramatic: a warning and a fine of 1,500 Swiss Francs (US$1,700). We will get further details of the case in two weeks when the Russian authorities publish their verdict in full. But this is the lightest option possible, a small fine and no suspension. This suggests Kolobnev presented satisfactory evidence to prove he accidentally ingested the banned substance. But the case highlights a lot more.

RusADA is the anti-doping agency in Russia and there are questions over the process of the Russian Cycling Federation. There’s a timetable to be respected. On the 20 July the UCI issued a press release confirming the B-test positive and starting the hearing process. The rules state “the proceedings before the hearing panel of the License-Holder’s National Federation must be completed within 1 (one) month“. Now events took place in July, we’re in October now so why the long delay? We all want due process and you shouldn’t rush justice but the rules say “the National Federation shall be penalized by the disciplinary commission, incurring a fine of CHF 5000 for each week’s delay“.

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www.cyclingnews.com

Slovenian excited to come back to Kazakh team in 2011
After a “pretty disappointing season”, Janez Brajkovič is preparing for his move from RadioShack to Astana, and has told Cyclingnews that he is excited about the challenge that lies ahead.

A revelation of the 2010 Critérium du Dauphiné, where he won GC ahead Alberto Contador, the 28-year-old Slovenian told Cyclingnews in a video interview that he “put everything” into the Tour de France this year but crashed on stage 5 and pulled out.

“I was super motivated after the Tour and probably I did too much in training," he said. As a result he missed his top form at his second grand tour, the Vuelta a Espana, and finishing 22nd.

Brajkovič says he is “excited” to come back to Astana where he raced in 2008 and 2009. The team management was different then, as Johan Bruyneel was in charge. The Slovenian has worked with the Belgian boss since 2005, so his transfer was an important decision.
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Thanks Guido Bontempi for photos

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Since his impressive crash during the 9th stage of Tour de France, Alexandre Vinokourov didn’t compete for any race, proud of his good recovery he wants to take part in Chrono des Nations.

Alexandre Vinokourov was operated on a fractured right femur on July 10th. After a visit to his surgeon Professor Yves Catoné, at the Hospital of La Pitié Salpêtrière (in Paris), exams have shown his good recovery and Alexandre had announced that he would take part in the Tour of Lombardy 2011.

In recent weeks, the Kazakh champion trains on the roads of the Maritime Alps and northern Italy, often with other riders who live in this region. As yesterday, he was with his friend Philippe Gilbert and the champion Eddy Merckx, Alexandre explains, "During my last training I thought a lot about my return to competition. I feel good on the road, but I do not want to take risks with my health. I prefer to start with an individual time trial; it is a discipline in which the risk of crash is lower than in a Classic race, among a bunch. So I decided to take part in Chrono des Nations instead of the Tour of Lombardy. It's a race I won in 2009, but this year I don’t presume to place myself as a favorite, I come back first to get the race pace back and above all to greet my supporters who have brought so much support in recent months, I am truly grateful of them! "

So Alexandre Vinokourov will be on the road of Les Herbiers in Vendée next Sunday, October 16th for the 30th Chrono des Nations.