- May 22, 2010
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The future of the strongest cycling team "Astana" is in clouds. Tour de France winner Nibali and Ukrainian cyclist Solovei may lose jobs – who is to benefit from this?
What was escaped several years ago only at a court in Lausanne by the Russian team "Katusha", now threatens Kazakhstan’s "Astana" – after much talk within Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the team of last year Tour de France winner faces losing of the World Tour licence – the top division in the cycling world.
For Kazakhstan’s project, active since 2006, such a scenario may turn a real catastrophe. The reasons for such a decision of the UCI Licensing Commission include the audit by Institut des sciences du sport de Lausanne that reportedly revealed serious doping problems of "Astana". On one hand, it is not ungrounded.
On the other, such “death” of "Astana" would be a heavy blow for cycling as a whole – licence may be effectively taken from the strongest team in the world pack that convincingly won Tour de France last July with Vincenzo Nibali. The doping case of the brothers Iglinsky and three positive tests in the continental team cannot but arouse concern, but is this enough to rob the whole Kazakhstan of cycling?
Opinions on this matter split amongst the cycling community. Astana’s General Manager Aleksandr Vinokurov is one of the most respected persons in the world of cycling, but many dream of settling scores with him, and this is commonly known. His past was also not entirely blameless but it is hard to deny that Vinokurov generally was the man who managed to make cycling more or less popular not only in Kazakhstan but in the entire post-Soviet space.
The leading Ukrainian racers also have their opinion on this matter, generally expressed by Yaroslav Popovych, the most famed Ukrainian cyclist, who does not understand what exactly is going on behind the scene with "Astana": “This year, UCI employed a sociological university and a group of three sociologists for three million euro. If I am not mistaken, the sociological university dealt with all teams, and the group of three – with "Astana". It so happened that the sociologists saw suspicions of lies in the answers of trainers, service personnel, managers and athletes. It all looked as if they tried some “experiment” with teams and approached "Astana" ex professo.”
Popovych argues that the majority of racers in the peloton hope for charges against "Astana" to be dropped: "All those people remote from cycling try to decide the fate of the team, relying on some unclear psychological tests. This is pure nonsense! We hope that the common sense will triumph, otherwise the whole team of such a high level will stay jobless." By the way, Popovych also competed for "Astana" for some time and treats manager Vinokurov with pointed regard.
Vice President of the Cycling Federation of Ukraine Alexander Bashenko, in his turn, is sure that a red card shown to one player of a football team should not mean that the whole team is sent off. Respectively, if the brothers Iglinsky confessed taking prohibited drugs, why should the whole cycling project of Astana be derailed? “All this blow-up begins to smell like kind of vendetta against Kazakhstan for Vinokurov’s Olympic medal, and I can say in response in plain terms to those who were so much eager to win in London – a foul dancer always blames… If we follow such a principle, cycling can be totally destroyed.” Bashenko sees in the possible UCI decision an immediate threat for Ukraine.
"Our cyclist Anna Solovei now competes for "Astana", where she has her personal trainer Bazin. If Kazakhstan’s project is closed, they will come back to Ukraine where they will not have the conditions to get ready for Olympics 2016 – it will be effectively lost for Anya", - elaborates Mr. Bashenko, who considers Ms. Solovei a fit candidate for an Olympic medal in Rio.
Solovei is far from being the only representative of "Astana" for whom the very existence of the team is vital. But of course, it is the closest and clearest example for us. The Ukrainian racer argues: "If it so happens that "Astana" cycling team is deprived of its licence, the world of cycling will lose one of the strongest teams of the present times! If one very strong team disappears – someone must profit from it."
Solovei sees behind the so-called "Astana Hunt" the desire of the strong and mighty in the world of cycling to do away with ambitious Kazakhstan’s project: "It seems to me that doping problems in the continental division are nothing but a reason to deal with strong adversaries. But those who hope to benefit from it do not take into account two things – the cult of personality of Vinokurov for Kazakhstan, and the strong spirit of the Kazakhs proper, who are not so easy to break. I would even say, next to impossible to break."
In any case, Solovei, Popovych and Bashenko alike do believe that "Astana" will survive. Solovei even adds: "Guess that «Astana» is closed. I am sure, a new team will be created on its basis, not weaker, maybe even with the same lineup. But frankly speaking, such a scenario seems unlikely to me. I keep my fingers crossed for what is my team mow. Hope that everything will be okay." One really wants to believe in the happy end of this story, although in the future, "Astana" should more seriously consider its past.
What was escaped several years ago only at a court in Lausanne by the Russian team "Katusha", now threatens Kazakhstan’s "Astana" – after much talk within Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the team of last year Tour de France winner faces losing of the World Tour licence – the top division in the cycling world.
For Kazakhstan’s project, active since 2006, such a scenario may turn a real catastrophe. The reasons for such a decision of the UCI Licensing Commission include the audit by Institut des sciences du sport de Lausanne that reportedly revealed serious doping problems of "Astana". On one hand, it is not ungrounded.
On the other, such “death” of "Astana" would be a heavy blow for cycling as a whole – licence may be effectively taken from the strongest team in the world pack that convincingly won Tour de France last July with Vincenzo Nibali. The doping case of the brothers Iglinsky and three positive tests in the continental team cannot but arouse concern, but is this enough to rob the whole Kazakhstan of cycling?
Opinions on this matter split amongst the cycling community. Astana’s General Manager Aleksandr Vinokurov is one of the most respected persons in the world of cycling, but many dream of settling scores with him, and this is commonly known. His past was also not entirely blameless but it is hard to deny that Vinokurov generally was the man who managed to make cycling more or less popular not only in Kazakhstan but in the entire post-Soviet space.
The leading Ukrainian racers also have their opinion on this matter, generally expressed by Yaroslav Popovych, the most famed Ukrainian cyclist, who does not understand what exactly is going on behind the scene with "Astana": “This year, UCI employed a sociological university and a group of three sociologists for three million euro. If I am not mistaken, the sociological university dealt with all teams, and the group of three – with "Astana". It so happened that the sociologists saw suspicions of lies in the answers of trainers, service personnel, managers and athletes. It all looked as if they tried some “experiment” with teams and approached "Astana" ex professo.”
Popovych argues that the majority of racers in the peloton hope for charges against "Astana" to be dropped: "All those people remote from cycling try to decide the fate of the team, relying on some unclear psychological tests. This is pure nonsense! We hope that the common sense will triumph, otherwise the whole team of such a high level will stay jobless." By the way, Popovych also competed for "Astana" for some time and treats manager Vinokurov with pointed regard.
Vice President of the Cycling Federation of Ukraine Alexander Bashenko, in his turn, is sure that a red card shown to one player of a football team should not mean that the whole team is sent off. Respectively, if the brothers Iglinsky confessed taking prohibited drugs, why should the whole cycling project of Astana be derailed? “All this blow-up begins to smell like kind of vendetta against Kazakhstan for Vinokurov’s Olympic medal, and I can say in response in plain terms to those who were so much eager to win in London – a foul dancer always blames… If we follow such a principle, cycling can be totally destroyed.” Bashenko sees in the possible UCI decision an immediate threat for Ukraine.
"Our cyclist Anna Solovei now competes for "Astana", where she has her personal trainer Bazin. If Kazakhstan’s project is closed, they will come back to Ukraine where they will not have the conditions to get ready for Olympics 2016 – it will be effectively lost for Anya", - elaborates Mr. Bashenko, who considers Ms. Solovei a fit candidate for an Olympic medal in Rio.
Solovei is far from being the only representative of "Astana" for whom the very existence of the team is vital. But of course, it is the closest and clearest example for us. The Ukrainian racer argues: "If it so happens that "Astana" cycling team is deprived of its licence, the world of cycling will lose one of the strongest teams of the present times! If one very strong team disappears – someone must profit from it."
Solovei sees behind the so-called "Astana Hunt" the desire of the strong and mighty in the world of cycling to do away with ambitious Kazakhstan’s project: "It seems to me that doping problems in the continental division are nothing but a reason to deal with strong adversaries. But those who hope to benefit from it do not take into account two things – the cult of personality of Vinokurov for Kazakhstan, and the strong spirit of the Kazakhs proper, who are not so easy to break. I would even say, next to impossible to break."
In any case, Solovei, Popovych and Bashenko alike do believe that "Astana" will survive. Solovei even adds: "Guess that «Astana» is closed. I am sure, a new team will be created on its basis, not weaker, maybe even with the same lineup. But frankly speaking, such a scenario seems unlikely to me. I keep my fingers crossed for what is my team mow. Hope that everything will be okay." One really wants to believe in the happy end of this story, although in the future, "Astana" should more seriously consider its past.
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