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UCI requests withdrawal of Astana ProTeam licence

Governing body says audit in to way team run reveals gap between what it told the Licensing Commission and "reality on the ground"...

The UCI is asking its Licence Commission to revoke Astana's 2015 ProTeam licence is revoked. Cycling's world governing body made the announcement today having seen the results of the audit done on the team by the the Institute of Sport Sciences of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL).

Should the Licencing Commission comply with the UCI's request Astana will lose its WorldTour place and in all probability its spot in most of cycling's most prestigious races including the Tour de France - which Astana rider Vincenzo Nibali won last year.

The news not only casts huge doubt over the future of Nibali, but also riders such as up and coming Italian star Fabrizio Aru, and former Tour of Britain winner Lars Boom, winner of the cobbled stage of the Tour de France last year.

The governing body's action also acts as a response to critics of UCI president Brian Cookson, who stood accused of failing to tackle doping within the sport when Astana was belatedly granted its licence to participate in this year's WorldTour last December.

At the time, Cookson made clear that Astana was, in effect, "on probation" and that any repeat of the doping issues that led to the Licence Commission reviewing its licence in the first place would lead to the issue being looked at again.

With any decision not to grant a licence to Astana almost certain to see the Kazakh outfit, managed by Alexander Vinokourov, appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Cookson also underlined in December that the Licence Comission's actions needed to have a solid legal basis.

He said: “I am determined that we do deal with this situation under the UCI rules, under the WADA code and under the legal constraints that would see us have to defend the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport or anywhere else."

The decision to grant Astana a licence was also provisional on the outcome of the ISSUL's audit of the team, which has found "a big difference between the policies and structures that the team presented to the Licence Commission in December and the reality on the ground."

Further damning evidence was provided by the Italian authorities who gave the UCI access to information gained by the Padova investigation into organised, systematic doping in professional cycling. 

The decision to review Astana's application for a 2015 WorldTour licence came after two of its riders, the bothers Maxim and Valnetin Iglinskiy, tested positive for EPO last August.

The team insisted that they were acting on their own, but the situation escalated after it emerged that three members of its UCI Continental development squad had also tested positive for banned substances.

The spectre of doping has never been far from Astana, which was founded in 2007.That year, Vinokourov tested positive for a banned blood transfusion during the Tour de France, and the entire squad was thrown off the race.

Alberto Contador joined Astana for the following season, but was unable to defend the Tour de France title he won in 2007 due to Astana being excluded from the race.

In 2009, Lance Armstrong chose to make his comeback with Astana, reuniting him with former US Postal manager Johan Bruyneel.

In its Reasoned Decision following the handing of a lifetime ban to the seven-time Tour de France winner, the United States Anti Doping Agency insisted he had been doping while at the Kazakh team and stripped him of his third place in the 2009 Tour de France.

That edition was won by his team mate Contador, who was still with Astana when he defended his title the following year and retained the yellow jersey, only to have it taken off him in early 2012 following a protracted legal battle as a result of his testing positive for clenbuterol late in the race.

Meanwhile, an appeal by the UCI against the decision of the Czech anti-doping agency not to sanction Tinkoff-Saxo rider Roman Kreuziguer for alleged irregularities in his biological passport during his time with Astana is still ongoing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The UCI has not given a timeframe for the Licence Commission's decision, and has said it will make no further comment until it has been made.

UCI statement

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.

road.cc's founder and first editor, nowadays to be found riding a spreadsheet. Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike, acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus. He launched his first cycling website - the Cycling Plus Forum at the turn of the century. In 2006 he left C+ to head up the launch team for Bike Radar which he edited until 2008, when he co-launched the multi-award winning road.cc - finally handing on the reins in 2021 to Jack Sexty. His favourite ride is his ‘commute’ - which he does most days inc weekends and he’s been cycle-commuting since 1994. His favourite bikes are titanium and have disc brakes, though he'd like to own a carbon bike one day.

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43 comments

Avatar
Comrade | 9 years ago
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...so what are we saying then, Vincenzo's moving to Sky?

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mattsccm | 9 years ago
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I love this site. What other one has such a high percentage of poster from those deep down inside the UCI, major teams and various governing bodies. Of course chaps you shouldn't be blabbing all that 100% truthful information, absolutely no speculation what so ever of course, on an unofficial channel.
Or just maybe its the usual personal clap trap from those who like to spout off their opinions.

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Must be Mad | 9 years ago
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Quote:

What about Europcar?

Their loss of a license had nothing to do with Astana - they (Europcar) couldn't fulfill the criteria of the license (due to the sponsor was pulling out). A totally separate issue

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Pat Hayes | 9 years ago
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What a surprise one of few teams that effectively challenges Sky taken out of game by UCI whose president's home federation is sponsored by Sky who also employ his son and probably paid for his election campaign .

Of course Sky face no sanctions despite Tiernan Locke case , Froome' s clear abuse of medical exemption rules , strong allegations of abuse of pain killers and various other cases of biological anomalies etc which all get swept under a Murdoch funded carpet

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notfastenough replied to Pat Hayes | 9 years ago
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Pat Hayes wrote:

What a surprise one of few teams that effectively challenges Sky taken out of game by UCI whose president's home federation is sponsored by Sky who also employ his son and probably paid for his election campaign .

Of course Sky face no sanctions despite Tiernan Locke case , Froome' s clear abuse of medical exemption rules , strong allegations of abuse of pain killers and various other cases of biological anomalies etc which all get swept under a Murdoch funded carpet

Hahahahahahahahaha
[breathe]
Hahahahahahahahaha

That's genius! I wondered how long it would take someone to turn this around into a sky conspiracy.

But yes, I agree entirely. Sky have Chris froome, whose face resembles a cheetah, which is a type of cat, and Brian Cookson is obviously a pussy, and Vino is a cheater of a different kind. Coincidence? I don't think so. Murdoch is actually Elliot Carver with that stealth boat in James Bond - evil!

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WDG replied to Pat Hayes | 9 years ago
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Tiernan-Locke wasn't a Sky rider when his offence occurred, he was Endura. But don't get facts get in the way of your conspiracy theories.

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J90 replied to Pat Hayes | 9 years ago
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Pat Hayes wrote:

What a surprise one of few teams that effectively challenges Sky taken out of game by UCI whose president's home federation is sponsored by Sky who also employ his son and probably paid for his election campaign .

Of course Sky face no sanctions despite Tiernan Locke case , Froome' s clear abuse of medical exemption rules , strong allegations of abuse of pain killers and various other cases of biological anomalies etc which all get swept under a Murdoch funded carpet

Cool story.

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Stumps | 9 years ago
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It was reported Sky were sniffing around Aru when Cataldo left for Astana, could be a possible move ?

Regardless of that i think its a fantastic result by the UCI and well done to them for doing it professionally and without a knee jerk reaction following the earlier failed tests.

If McQ was still in charge this would never have happened.

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mrmo | 9 years ago
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@ gareth2510

at the time many also pointed out that the UCI had to have a water tight case, Katashua were refused a licence went to CAS and won on appeal.

The Italian papers were not available, there were a pair of brothers on the team who had failed a test and some from a feeder team. Not exactly conclusive proof of anything within Astana. yes Vino may have dopped but again what does that prove?

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Must be Mad | 9 years ago
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Quote:

So does this mean there's a Pro Team licence up for grabs by one of the teams that missed out?

Which teams 'missed out' - given that even with Astana in, there are less world tour teams than last year?

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Gromski replied to Must be Mad | 9 years ago
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Must be Mad wrote:
Quote:

So does this mean there's a Pro Team licence up for grabs by one of the teams that missed out?

Which teams 'missed out' - given that even with Astana in, there are less world tour teams than last year?

What about Europcar?

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Gromski | 9 years ago
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So does this mean there's a Pro Team licence up for grabs by one of the teams that missed out?

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Gromski | 9 years ago
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So does this mean there's a Pro Team licence up for grabs by one of the teams that missed out?

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badback | 9 years ago
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Had the feeling that the UCI were dotting the i's and crossing the t's last year to avoid future tustles in the CAS. Shame that Lars Boom made a bad decision to transfer to Astana. I bet he's not a happy bear.

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catfordrichard replied to badback | 9 years ago
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badback wrote:

Had the feeling that the UCI were dotting the i's and crossing the t's last year to avoid future tustles in the CAS. Shame that Lars Boom made a bad decision to transfer to Astana. I bet he's not a happy bear.

I think you've nailed it there Badback. Could you have imagined the further damage to the sport and it's reputation if it was to drag through courts and over shadow the whole 2015 European racing season.

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Jonny_Trousers | 9 years ago
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Good. Their team kit was ugly as.

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gareth2510 | 9 years ago
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Team Extreme...
At the time of the licenses being awarded for this season Astana were losing riders in all of their teams to failed dope tests and there was speculation as to wether they would be granted a license as a result. Press reported of mass doping throughout the team. When they were granted a license many were evidently very suprised...not to mention some of the bigger Pro Continental teams who were hoping to take Astana's place. So I was disappointed that the UCI and the Licence Commission awarded Astana a license considering they appeared to be doing everything in their powers to continue the doping culture.

Quote from paragraph 4 of this very article..
" The governing body's action also acts as a response to critics of UCI president Brian Cookson, who stood accused of failing to tackle doping within the sport when Astana was belatedly granted its licence to participate in this year's WorldTour last December.

At the time, Cookson made clear that Astana was, in effect, "on probation" and that any repeat of the doping issues that led to the Licence Commission reviewing its licence in the first place would lead to the issue being looked at again"

Its not really that ill informed a comment, but thank you anyway

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gareth2510 | 9 years ago
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Astana should never have been awarded the license for this year in the first place what with the sh!t storm that was flying around at the time regards the team.
Im glad the UCI have grown a pair and acted, but this should have been done months ago

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TeamExtreme replied to gareth2510 | 9 years ago
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gareth2510 wrote:

Astana should never have been awarded the license for this year in the first place what with the sh!t storm that was flying around at the time regards the team.
Im glad the UCI have grown a pair and acted, but this should have been done months ago

Congratulations, you win the most ill-informed comment on this thread.

At least until someone comes along and defends Astana...

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ianrobo replied to TeamExtreme | 9 years ago
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TeamExtreme wrote:
gareth2510 wrote:

Astana should never have been awarded the license for this year in the first place what with the sh!t storm that was flying around at the time regards the team.
Im glad the UCI have grown a pair and acted, but this should have been done months ago

Congratulations, you win the most ill-informed comment on this thread.

At least until someone comes along and defends Astana...

not seen anyone yet do that, almost universal glee

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themartincox | 9 years ago
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Cat, meet the pigeons.  41

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andyp | 9 years ago
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yay, and boo
As above. Well done Cookson and co, about bloody time

A season without Nibbles, however, is unthinkable  2 Hope he can move.

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HalfWheeler | 9 years ago
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I'd question the timing. The issues have been known since autumn. The audit should have been completed and then referred to the license commission before the Gulf tours started let alone before the season has hit European soil.

But, better late than never.

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ianrobo | 9 years ago
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We should remember there are two issues here.

The first is whether Astana had the right procedures in place, appears not.

The second through Padova is whether Ferrari was involved with Astana and that looks proved as well.

Vino has to be finished now and I hope dearly that Rijs follows.

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notfastenough | 9 years ago
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Bye bye vino. Take your plastic Olympic 'gold' with you.

Nibbles has to be feeling nervous now. He needs a new team, and he needs to perform when he gets there, lest there be any suggestions of a 'dip' in performance after he departs Astana.

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catfordrichard | 9 years ago
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Interesting development for sure. Maybe a defining moment for the fight to remove these people like Vino from the sport

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gareth2510 | 9 years ago
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cheers ianrobo.

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gareth2510 | 9 years ago
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Could Nibs lose his Tour win if this were to happen does anyone know?

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ianrobo replied to gareth2510 | 9 years ago
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gareth2510 wrote:

Could Nibs lose his Tour win if this were to happen does anyone know?

Nope as no evidence at this stage he doped and no mention of him in the Padova docs.

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ianrobo | 9 years ago
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Due process is key here and now the question is what happens to the riders who will be heavily tainted by this even if some did not take part in doping.

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