Astana-gate: part 2
Last week I posted an article on this blog about the problems that Astana Team was facing. In case you have just arrived from a 3-month long trip to Mars, Astana had 5 riders returning positive tests. Valentin and Maxim Iglinsky, Ilya Davidenok, Victor Okishev and Artur Fedosseyev. Alexandr Vinokourov suspended the Astana Continetnal Team and the following day the Kazakhstani Cycling Federation followed suit. Then the UCI announced that they will be looking into this and they did not issue a Pro Tour licence to the Astana World Team.
So, yestrday morning the Gazzeta dello Sport reported that the infamous Dr. Michele Ferrari was seen at Astana’a training camp in November last year. My Italian language skill is from zero to non-existent so I managed to find this article on Cycling Tips. Then, yesterday evening I found this article on cyclingnews.com.
The cycling world was waiting for UCI’s Licencing Committee to come up with a decision on 10 December (tomorrow). This new development in the Astana story seems to be making things harder for the team. I would not be surprised if UCI decide to not issue them with a ProTour licence. On the other hand, sponsorship money is not flowing like it was some years ago, so the UCI will have to take it into consideration and it is not easy to say “no” to a team that has the cash and “yes” to a team that might not be able to come up with the money later on. So I will not be too shocked if the give them the licence and slap on the wrist.
Unfortunately, the whole doping issue is not just about morality, fair-play and right & wrong. It turns out that about money and business sense, too.