Astana Has Nothing to Hide…Except Its Identity
Following the report that the UCI had surprise tested a group of riders that were training in “strange outfits,” media speculation has rested on Team Astana. Astana has several top riders that could contend for the Tour de France title this year. The team leader, Alexandre Vinokourov has been named as the race favorite by several experts.
Apparently the media reports that Astana was the team involved struck a nerve with team officials, because they released a statement yesterday on the subject. In the statement the team said that they are “not wishing to hide anything.” The speculation on the Astana team has been brought on by themselves by attempting to hide their identity by training in non-team apparel. Apparently wearing non-team jerseys was the “strange outfit” that the UCI was focusing on. I expected more. I expected the riders to be wearing SCUBA gear or something in order to be classified as strange. I am not sure that wearing a different jersey than you normally wear classifies as “strange.”
Astana says they aren’t dopers, so we will have to wait until the positive tests are release to see if they are telling the truth. One thing is for certain…..someone will be kicked out of the Tour before it starts. It may be someone from Astana; It may be someone from a different team.
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