KZBlog

This week some changes were announced regarding Team Astana, the cycling team. Alberto Contador himself finally announced that he is staying with the team. After losing Armstrong and Brunyel and after a long period of doubt over whether the team would keep its UCI license or its funding, this is very good news.

Despite mulling over offers from other teams, and having the possibility of breaking his contract without penalty, Contador feels optimistic about Team Astana, especially now that Armstrong and Bruyneel. And the deputy president of the Cycling Federation has promised to look into getting new champion cyclists, naming Bradley Wiggins as one possibility.

Samruk-Kazyna, the state holding company that owns most of the companies that sponsor the team, has agreed to fund the team for 2010 to the tune of $22 million plus $3.7 million that has already been sent to the agency that handles salaries. That’s good enough for the UCI, which is renewing the team’s license.

In other news, Kairat Kelimbetov has been named the new head of the Kazakhstan Cycling Federation. Kelimbetov is the chairman of Samruk-Kazyna and a former head of the Presidential Administration. While the AP News article reads this as “a further symbolic gesture of state support for Astana”, it looks to me like Samruk-Kazyna wants to protect their investment by getting a little more control over the team, which is fair enough.

There are also rumors that the team will change its name to Samruk-Kazyna, presumably a publicity move for the holding company. I have also felt it was strange that Team Astana was really the only team out there named after a city and strongly identified with a nation. Most professional teams are linked to their sponsors. Kazakhstan has a national cycling team that competes in international events such as the Olympics and World Championships. Professional cycling is different and doesn’t really fit in with the nationalism and patriotism, especially when most of the riders on Team Astana are not from Kazakhstan.

Update here