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Astana Licence to be withdrawn?

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mrhender

mrhender

Jul 11, 2013
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UCI confirms

http://www.uci.ch/pressreleases/the-uci-requests-withdrawal-astana-pro-team-licence/

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) today confirms that it has now reviewed the audit produced by the Institute of Sport Sciences of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL) (1) on Astana Pro Team and its anti-doping culture, policies, structures and management systems. The audit was one of the conditions attached to the registration of the team in the 2015 UCI WorldTour.

After careful review of this extensive report, the UCI strongly believes that it contains compelling grounds to refer the matter to the Licence Commission (2) and request the Astana Pro Team licence be withdrawn.

The UCI considers that the ISSUL audit has, among other things, revealed a big difference between the policies and structures that the team presented to the Licence Commission in December and the reality on the ground.

In addition, the Italian authorities have provided the UCI with the sections of the Padova investigation which it has been authorized to share. As some evidence concerns Astana Pro Team members, the file has been passed to the Licence Commission as part of this referral. .

For the sake of due process, the UCI is not in a position to comment further on the content of the audit report, nor the Padova investigation, until the Licence Commission has assessed the situation and rendered its decision. But this decision to refer the matter to the Licence Commission was reached taking all circumstances and potential consequences into consideration.

The UCI will not make any further comment until the Licence Commission has rendered its decision.


Background to the ISSUL audit

The ISSUL audit was one of the conditions attached to the registration of Astana Pro Team in 2015. It was commissioned by the Licence Commission in December 2014 to look into the circumstances of doping cases in Astana Pro Team last year. The ISSUL audit has sought to determine whether and to what extent the Astana Pro Team and/or its management was responsible in doping cases concerning its riders, Maxim and Valentin Iglinskiy (EPO), and Ilya Davidenok (anabolic steroids), a trainee with the Astana Pro Team since August 1st, 2014.

The ISSUL was asked to assess the team?s internal structures, culture and management systems to understand whether these are adequate to ensure that the highest ethical standards are upheld.


(1) The Institute of Sport Sciences of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL), attached to the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences is a centre of excellence in training and research. The ISSUL produces numerous works, published in journals and publishers of reference, dealing with different aspects of sport practice (sociology, physiology, biomechanics etc). The institute often carries out assignments on behalf of national and international organisations.

(2) The Licence Commission is the competent body for issuing, reviewing, withdrawing and attaching conditions to UCI WorldTour licences and ensuring that licence-holders continuously comply with the terms of the licence. It is made up of 4 professionals who work independently of the UCI and its President is Mr. Pierre Zappelli, a former Swiss Court Supreme Judge.
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H

hektoren

Jun 15, 2009
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Fantastic news. Padova investigation is probably what tipped the scales...
Bound to be referred to CAS, and eventually we'll know.
 
LaFlorecita

LaFlorecita

May 15, 2011
45,171
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24,680
Eshnar said:
In any case, with TAS and everything, I guess the Giro is 100% sure for them. For the Tdf, I'm not so sure. But I will be really surprised if they get kicked out.
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Who says they'll be able to race pending the CAS decision? As far as I'm aware, if the license commission withdraws their license, they can't race. CAS can decide to give them back their license, however, the original ruling will stay in effect until CAS decides to overturn it.
 
LaFlorecita

LaFlorecita

May 15, 2011
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617
24,680
@DopeologyDotOrg: Article 2.15.040: Licence revoked if 1. falsification of info 2. change of info 3. failure to satisfy conditions 4. Harm to WT reputation.

@DopeologyDotOrg: Astana appears to have broken each of those four conditions.
 
mrhender

mrhender

Jul 11, 2013
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LaFlorecita said:
Who says they'll be able to race pending the CAS decision? As far as I'm aware, if the license commission withdraws their license, they can't race. CAS can decide to give them back their license, however, the original ruling will stay in effect until CAS decides to overturn it.
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http://inrng.com/2015/02/astana-uci-world-tour-licence-withdrawal/
-The UCI submits its written request to the Licence Commission

-A hearing is called with the team given at least 10 days notice

-If the licence is withdrawn the team could stop racing, there's no automatic granting of a second-tier Pro Conti licence

-Astana may appeal the verdict to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)

-Any CAS appeal will take time, possibly two months, and there is scope for Astana to make a separate fast-track appeal to win back its licence on a temporary basis in order to keep riding.
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The Licence Commission could see Astana demoted to the second-tier UCI Professional Continental Status but if the ISSUL report is damning then this is unlikely, we’re not talking about an administrative or financial shortfall as happened to Europcar but a fundamental problem.
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Astana can race for now but if the Licence Commission agrees with the UCI then it’s only a matter of days until the team is pulled from racing. Then the lawyers get to work, there could be a temporary reinstatement allowing the team to race on pending an appeal, we’ll see. This is such a serious decision that the UCI surely has to be so confident in this decision that it can effectively pick a fight with team represented, funded and supported by a large country.
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