Sporza is reporting Astana has been invited to start the Giro.

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza.be/wielrennen/RondeVanItalie/080503_astana_giro_start

Looks like Kloeden or Levi would be team leaders with Contador riding with a question mark over his fitness.

If that's true, it's quite the surprise. I suspect Levi would be pretty motivated for this seeing how times running out on his career. Vuelta looks to be Contadors (as lead) so makes sense there. I'd be rooting for Klöden though.

It's true, Sporza interviewed a spokesman today on live TV who confirmed the invitation.

Cool I guess. I think Contador would ride in support though this time round. But then again, both Levi and Andreas are not as fit as they would be had they been initially invited to the Giro.

I guess the Vuelta won't be a clean sweep now perhaps by Astana.

both Levi and Andreas are not as fit as they would be had they been initially invited to the Giro.

In Romandie Klödi shows he's about as fit as he ever was.

so what's the reason for the change in decision? does that mean that another team is being excluded?? too bad they dont take the position of screw you we dont want to be in your stupid race now, or use the we dont have enough time to get things organized now, piss off wankers

so what's the reason for the change in decision?

The PT is dead, so the primary motivation for Astana's exclusion is gone. From a sporting perspective Astana is an attractive team, but I also wouldn't be surprised if money exchanged hands as well.

it wouldn't be surprising if money was tossed around, but it's good to see astana in regardless, in my opinion.

Astana agreed to put better riders on the Giro squad. Sending the C team as Bruyneel always did was a big part of them being excluded.

In a similar vein I think CSC should get the boot to make room for Astana. I didn't see Andy Schleck on their Giro roster, just a bunch of no names.

Astana agreed to put better riders on the Giro squad. Sending the C team as Bruyneel always did was a big part of them being excluded.

In a similar vein I think CSC should get the boot to make room for Astana. I didn't see Andy Schleck on their Giro roster, just a bunch of no names.

Look out for Chris Anker Sorenson of CSC, a young climber who was fantastic at the Tour of Germany last year, I bet he gets top 15 overall, I was frustrated about Acqua e Sapone exclusion from the Giro this year, Garzelli is always part of the entertainment in the mountains.

Only a top 15 for CSC? Not worth inviting such a high caliber team if they know they can't contest the podium.

Astana agreed to put better riders on the Giro squad. Sending the C team as Bruyneel always did was a big part of them being excluded.

In a similar vein I think CSC should get the boot to make room for Astana. I didn't see Andy Schleck on their Giro roster, just a bunch of no names.

Jens Voigt and Stuart O'Grady are perhaps not GC contenders but they can hardly be described as "no names".

Personally I skip watching the Giro, any event with that freaking doping cirkus called Astana isn't worth watching.

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Regards

Not watching coverage of cycling with doping teams? How many decades of cycling have you boycotted, then? Did they wear helmets? ;)

Astana agreed to put better riders on the Giro squad.

I thought it was odd when I read something along the lines that a month ago Astana contacted the organizers to let them know they were interested in riding. Haven't they always been interested?

Now I'm reading that the contact was by the Khazak government and they participated in the negotiations.

I'm glad they are in, but if one of them does a Basso and softpedals to the win I'll be really disappointed. I think if Contador is "prepared" like he was for the Tour last year the chance exists, but hopefully the late entry means he won't be.

Not watching coverage of cycling with doping teams? How many decades of cycling have you boycotted, then? Did they wear helmets? ;)

I remember when the riders didn't wear helmet and sunglasses that makes the riders look like aliens from mars;-)

I was hoping that all the tough times the cycling sport have gone through would mean some kind of reform that would mean less doping in the peloton. But it looks even worse now; Basso will soon race again on a pro team, so getting caught now only means a two years vacation and then back to the pro peloton.

Contador, the pupil of "Venga Venga Venga" Saiz is now a "protected" rider, protected in the sense that he is photographed in front of a government building together with a spanish minister that "backs him all the way", and protected by UCI president Pat Mcquaid who personally guarantee him.
With protection like that, no wonder that the extremely compromising Puerto evidence against him and the entire 2005 Liberty team he rode with, are swept under the carpet.
When the system that are meant to catch dopers instead protects them (for whatever reason), there isn't much else I can do as a citizen than turning the tv off. At some point one has to draw a line in the sand, and to me Astana is where no-one can take cycling serious as a sport anymore.

And the message this sends to the sponsors are clear, Discovery, CSC, T-Mobile, Toyota, MAN etc. are all withdrawing from the sport, sure they all have other excuses, but who believes them. Team CSC are likely to close within a year for lack af main sponsor, just like Discovery/Tailwind did.

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Regards

Sponsors are pulling out because the enforcement is unprofessional and inconsistent, not because of doping. They were all just fine with cycling when their riders could dope without significant risk of getting caught.

Sponsors are pulling out because the enforcement is unprofessional and inconsistent, not because of doping. They were all just fine with cycling when their riders could dope without significant risk of getting caught.

Your really think that the "unprofessional and inconsistent enforcement" has more to do with sponsors pulling out than the fact that riders keep getting caught left and right doping?

Seems to me, at least in their public statements, some sponsors have made it clear they are leaving because of the doping.

Sponsors are pulling out because the enforcement is unprofessional and inconsistent,

This is of course true, but with the UCI backing dopers and figthing both WADA and ASO what else to expect.

not because of doping. They were all just fine with cycling when their riders could dope without significant risk of getting caught.

Well, the old "lets pretend that doping doesn't exist" doesn't work anymore, with so many blood bags in Spain alone belonging to riders still in the peloton.
Anyway, the sponsors are leaving and few seems eager to take over. Some smaller races here in Europe are allready closing simply because fewer and fewer sponsors wants to associate themself with cycling.

For a cheap laugh watch how the UCI is going to fumble the blood passport case. Will they do it deliberately or because they are incompetent, who knows, but the end result will be empty thunder and no lightning strikes.

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Regards

another crashed racing thread...

Somebody move it to the doping forum so we can start a new discussion.

Right, nobody will stop doping until a rider (a la Tom Simpson) dies from the causes that it brings to the human body. that means we will never get rid of it until the mentality changes about doping in the Pro Peloton. Riders feels under pressure from the sponsors to ride themselves into the ground and they are riding for their livelihoods here guys, putting food onto the table for their families, we all know who we work for, it's not ourselves if we are honest. So what do they do? I know what I would do to get results so I would not end up enemployed at the end of the year.

The point is, there's a doping forum to discuss it. This is the forum to talk about racing... The Giro course is pretty crazy this year, mixing up flat and mountain stages throughout, killer mountain days the day after dead flat ones etc. The addition of Astana is a good one from a fan perspective-three more potential winners should make for an interesting race (and interesting to watch how Astana manages their own riders).