The Astana team will continue to run. Kazakh formation winner of the Tour de France, Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali, against all odds has kept the license giving access to him despite major cycling races doping cases that have affected last year.
In late February, the International Cycling Union (UCI) had requested the withdrawal of the license granted to Astana, but it was not followed by the license commission, composed of four members, which made its Thursday, April 23 decision after a hearing with representatives of the various parties. The team of Nibali guard and sesame gives it automatic access to major events on the calendar, including the next Giro (May 9 to 31) and the Tour de France (July 4 to 26).
Read: Cycling: Astana plays its future in a climate of tension
“strong signal”
The team is committed to comply with specific measures recommended by the Institute of Sports Science of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL), said the UCI, adding that the license “remains subject to the strict control of the condition” .
On Monday, the UCI president, Briton Brian Cookson, told AFP that he “no doubt” on the fact that the team would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case of license withdrawal. “Whatever happens, we launched a very strong signal not only in Astana but other teams’ , added Brian Cookson.
In 2014, the team headed by Olympic champion 2012, the Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov, was confronted with two cases of EPO doping affecting Valentin brothers and Maxim Iglinsky, as well as a positive control for a trainee, Ilya Davidenok, too Kazakh nationality. Two other riders of his reserve team (Astana Continental, 3 th division), which was then suspended by the Kazakh Federation, also tested positive.
Business Cascade
Following this business waterfall, Astana was obtained at the end of last year a license with conditions, requiring it to submit, among other things, an audit of ‘ISSUL, to audit the responsibility of coaching the team, and observe strict adherence to the contract documents including the preparation and the workload of the runners.
In February after consideration of the audit, the UCI had declared “convinced” as its contents justified “makes ample bring the case to the license commission” and request the withdrawal of the license.
Read also: Astana, a life in the shadow of doping
The UCI has also based its decision on the so-called Padua case investigation conducted by the Italian justice around the trainer Michele Ferrari banned for life by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Italian media had reported contact between the sulfur preparer and members of the Astana team, but not Nibali.
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