After a month out of the roads due to the last doping scandal occurred during 2007 Tour de France in which Vinokourov tested positive in a blood doping control, the Swiss based team will resume Pro Tour calendar on September 2nd at the Grand Prix of Plouay.
The controversy goes back on April 24th when the cyclist Matthias Kessler was dismissed by Astana when testing positive for abnormally elevated levels of testosterone. The Kazakh Andriy Kashechkin was also suspended a few weeks after the Tour just to boost the torment of the Astana.
The problems related with the use of prohibited substances have highly affected the solidity of the team since it was known as Liberty Seguros and was involved in the Operacion Puerto in 2006. Actually, the Astana has been banned from the Tour of Spain, one of the three big tours in cycling (Giro d’ Italia, Tour de France and Tour of Spain).
In order to redeem its reputation the Astana is intended to install an anti doping program with the support of the Swiss Olympic Association. The project surged as an attempt of the team to keep its Pro-Tour License.
However, while the problems are solved the cyclists need to improve and nothing better than a Pro Tour race to come back to the action. The list of cyclist who will compete in the French event is not ready yet but all the riders from the Astana are surely eager to compete after four weeks of absence.