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Heart-Breaking New For Astana

The heart-breaking news that greeted cycling fans this Valentine’s Day was that Astana will not be invited to participate in the 2008 Tour de France or any other ASO run races this year. Contador will not be able to defend his title as champion. German fans will not be able to see if Andreas Kloden can make it to the podium again and American fans won’t be able to watch Levi Leipheimer or Chris Horner ride in the biggest cycling event of the year.

The powers that be at the ASO made this decision, in large part, because of the past actions of the Astana and while I respect and support their desire to clean up the sport and show that there is a zero-tolerance policy in effect for doping at these races, I do not think that this targeted attack on Astana is even close to being fair.

The 2008 Astana is NOT the 2007 Astana or the 2006 Astana. They have gone to enormous lengths to turn over a new leaf, so much so that, other than the name, they are almost unrecognizable as the former Astana team. The attempts that they’re making to ensure that the past does not repeat itself should be praised and encouraged. But instead the ASO is sticking with the Guilty Until Proven Innocent system of justice that plagues this sport at the top levels and means that race organizers and team management are still not working together to attack the problem.

If you disagree with the ASO’s decision and you want to let them know, here are a few email addresses to get you started. Tell them how you feel. It’s a private organization and they have the power to change any decision they want.

Christian Prudhomme - cprudhomme@aso.fr

Gilbert Ysern - gysern@aso.fr

Patrice Clerc - pclerc@aso.fr

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