There may be a dark cloud of uncertainty hanging over Astana at the moment, but its team at the Tour de Langkawi is determined to carry on with business as usual.
In February the UCI requested that the Kazakh team’s WorldTour license be revoked following an audit conducted by the Institute of Sport Sciences of the University of Lausanne (ISSUL). It came after five positive tests in a year for riders associated with the team (two coming from the Astana Continental team that has since been suspended) which led UCI President Brian Cookson to tell Cyclingnews they were drinking in the last chance saloon.
Despite the grave implications of losing WorldTour status for the team and its riders, out in Malaysia the issue is the last thing on anyone’s mind.
"It's not my problem because I'm a rider and I do my job," said Andrea Guardini, who has three stages to his name already. "It's a political problem, I don't see anything, it's not our problem, we do our job and that’s it."
His comments are in a similar vein to those of Tour de France champion Vincezno Nibali, who remarked ahead of Strade Bianche last weekend that the situation was all about politics.
Valerio Agnoli, one of Guardini’s key lieutenants, echoed his leader’s sentiments in similarly cagey fashion. "The riders think about racing and don’t think about this situation," he said. "Every guy is concentrating on the race."
Even at management level, there is little acknowledgement of any impact of the whole issue.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"It is absolutely not affecting the team here," said directeur sportif Dmitri Sedoun. "We are still easy because we know how it’s working with our team and we don’t have any problems so we go ahead like every time – nothing has changed."
Should Astana lose their license, they could face a situation where their key riders look elsewhere for contracts that will enable them to take part in WorldTour races. When asked if he has considered his future in this light, Agnoli said: "Today I think about the tour of Malaysia, tomorrow I think about tomorrow. I race. I only race."
Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.
