Astana Cycling Team

Being the inaugural edition of the event, there is some deal of intrigue for all teams about the 2011 Tour of Beijing.

For Pro team Astana’s Sport Director, Dmitry Sedoun there is even a little uncertainty about how his own squad might respond.

“The first stages will define which one from our men is in the best condition to compete for the general classification. First, the time trial of 11km should separate our riders with a few seconds and then the third stage with a uphill finish should be very selective and will be decisive for the general ranking,” Sedoun said.

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Original article translated by The Diplomatic Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Kingdom of Thailand

There is a great number of admirers and fans of Alexander Vinokourov, although, despite his popularity, there is not much information on how he has become so enthusiastic with cycling.

The stories about Vinokourov’s childhood and the starting moments of his career were shared in an interview, available at the Astana Cycling Team Fan Club (www.astanafans.com), with Alexander’s parents, Nikolay and Raisa Vinokourov, and the Executive Director of the Kazakhstan Cycling Federation, Alexander Antyshev, who witnessed his early career as a cyclist.

Alexander Vinokourov, or Vino, as he is called by many, was born on September 16, 1973, in a small town of Bishkul nearby the city of Petropavl in North Kazakhstan, where he then spent his early days, youth and found his passion – cycling.

The childhood of the sportsman was not special or any more extraordinary than that of many regular kids in Kazakhstan. His father, Nikolay Vinokourov, used to be an electrician and his mother, Raisa, has worked for the local department of statistics later becoming a housewife, while none of Alexander’s family members have ever had anything to do with sports. Read the rest of this entry →

Alexandre Vinokourov said today that he will continue his career in racing to keep his points for Astana and Kazakhstan in the ranking of the International Cycling Union

He will focus on Spring classics, the Tour de France most likely will not be included in Vino's plans. For sure Roman Kreuziger is next year Astana's leader for TdF.

Now there's a steel rode in his leg, it will be removed only after one and half year. But it doesn't prevent to ride.

It was decided that Vino will be included in management team, all matters relating to personnel, races etc. will be in his sphere of operations.
Vino still does not exclude that there is a chance to sign Alberto Contador at the end of season 2012. Negotiations for the next season 2012 with other riders still under way, a transfer season is not over.
Contracts of many of the strongest riders will expire at the end of 2012, Astana will fight for the strengthening of the team in season-2013.

De Telegraaf - Possible merger of Astana and Saxobank

Google-перевод с фламандского...

MONTREAL - Following the merger between RadioShack and Leopard are now Saxobank Team Astana and talking to each other. Where the fusion between the team of Johan Bruyneel and the Schleck brothers came through bicycle manufacturer Trek, playing in a possible new merger at the highest level a key Specialized.
Both Astana and Saxobank receives a substantial part of its budget through the bicycle manufacturer from California. By joining forces, they hope a topformatie around triple Tour winner Alberto Contador to create that new power bloc of Bruyneel counterweight. After the Tourrit on l'Alpe d'Huez, both teams talking to each other.

Hello from Madrid to Astanafans surfers and cycling lovers everywhere!

Last Saturday we were at the Astana hotel to welcome the riders and staff at their arrival in Madrid, after a-three and a half hour drive from Vitoria for the team. It was nearly 10PM and most of them were exhausted and starving.

Nevertheless, they almost all acknowledged our presence and posed for a photo at the restaurant entrance. As usual, a round table was set for the riders and another for the staff.
The directors: Messrs. Martinelli, Bontempi, Makhmetov and Dr. Andreazzoli arrived with the team bus and the last shift.

Everybody went at once to dinner, except Blandine who skipped it in order to write her daily report for the Astana team official website. She was anxious to see if the internet connection would work since she had had a lot of problems with that the night before. Read the rest of this entry →

Hello once more my friends from Astanafans and cycling lovers,

Last night we had dinner with the team, which took place in a very friendly atmosphere. The food was good except that in practically all the dishes there was some “unannounced” pork meat which, for those islamic Kazakh riders or staff, was very unpleasant, especially for those who respect the Ramadan .  Even the fish dish contained a piece of ham!

We were introduced by Aidar to famous Uzbekh rider Djamolidine Abdoujaparov and we had a souvenir photo taken with him.  Although he apparently was known as the “Tashkent Terror”, we found him very gentle and sweet.

At dinner with Tashkent Terror

The team is very pleased with the results of Fredrik Kessiakov who finished very close to stage winner, Joaquin Rodriguez, and had gained 4 places in the general classification, and stood in 6^th position.

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Fans waiting at hotel for riders' return from stage

Hello my friends from Astanafans and cycling lovers,

We joined the Vuelta yesterday as it entered the province of Andalusia.
Like on the Giro d’Italia, the atmosphere on the Vuelta a España is cool and relaxed, nothing compared to the Tour de France stressful commercial aspect, and the Spanish are easygoing people. So the Vuelta is an enjoyable three-week race.

In this period of the year, specially in Andalusia, it gets really very hot during the day, and the riders have a hard time fighting against the heat, and make sure they are sufficiently hydrated.

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Hello to all our friends from Kazakhstan and professional cycling lovers,

Since my last report our life has changed, and we now live half of the year in Spain, and the other half in France.

My husband Roger and I just returned from a visit to the Astana team at the ENECO Tour, that takes place in Belgium and mainly Holland.
Contrary to races managed by ASO, one does not need special VIP passes to approach the riders and team buses. There is a very relaxed atmosphere compared to the enormous hustle and bustle surrounding the big commercial event that is the Tour de France.

All photos by Kahane

For the final three days of the ENECO, all the teams were accommodated in hotels surrounding the pretty Dutch town of Maastricht, a strategic point for the departures of the various stages. Read the rest of this entry →