2011 Astana season

This article lists the team cycling team Astana won and in the 2011 season.

Staff

After the departure of Captain Contador and his Saxo Bank SunGard Spanish helpers left after the 2010 season, the young Italian Mirko Selvaggi ( Vacansoleil -DCM to ) and Spaniard David de la Fuente ( Geox -TMC to ) the Kazakh team. Scott Davis, Valery Dmitriev and former Tour winner Oscar Pereiro finished their career, even Bolat Rajimbekow no longer drove 2011 for Astana. Newly arrived Frenchman Remy Di Gregorio of FDJ, which is referred to as one of the greatest climbers talents of France, but had fallen out with the FDJ team manager Marc Madiot, and Fredrik Kessiakoff. The Swede, who was only became a professional cyclist with 29 years, had shown in his first season in 2010, particularly in mountainous terrain good performance, however, was at Garmin -Transitions, which merged with the team Cervélo, a new contract more. Liquigas -Doimo- met Robert Kiserlovski and Roman Kreuziger to Equipe. The Croatian Kiserlovski 2010 had kept up in the Giro d' Italia in the mountains is good with favorites and worn the jersey of best young rider. The also still young Kreuziger, a Czech who had, despite his skills as a stage racer at Liquigas can not prevail because of the strong competition from Giro winner Ivan Basso and the Vuelta -a- Espana winner Vincenzo Nibali -. With the Russians Yevgeny Petrov, an experienced actor has been committed to the Lithuanian Tomas Vaitkus returned after a year back at Team RadioShack. In addition to the Sprinter and cobblestone specialists also changed the Italian Mirco Lorenzetto, Francesco Masciarelli and the young Australian Simon Clarke and the Estonian Tanel Kangert, who had previously denied a season as an amateur, to Kazakhstan.

Without the most successful man in recent years, Alberto Contador, the team directed from 2011 primarily due to Alexander Vinokourov. The Kazakh has spent a good showing in the Tour de France as a personal goal. The team will support him. In addition, Vinokourov said that 2011 will be his last year as a pro. Behind Vinokourov newcomer Roman Kreuziger is to be built to a new captain for the big tours, other young and talented drivers like the new additions Di Gregorio and Kiserlovski are to develop to win drivers. Overall, the team was rejuvenated in comparison to 2010.

Course of the season

End of November 2010 Astana was from Cycling Union UCI ProTeam confirmed as enjoying automatic start right at the most important competitions in the world. The first race in 2011 challenged the team to a training camp in the Italian Montecatini Terme (December 2010) in January at the Tour Down Under, the 2011 was the prelude to the UCI World Tour. There, led Allan Davis, who won this race in 2009, the seven-member crew, while the remaining squad was in another training camp in Spain Calp. In the fight for the overall victory, however, Davis could not intervene. But with a tenth, eighth and sixth stage and rank ninth in the overall standings after all, he brought the first results for the Kazakh ProTeam.

In February, a delegation of the team coached by current captain Kreuziger on Etna volcano in Italy, is on the agenda at this year's Giro d' Italia. Meanwhile, drove seven Astana professionals at the Tour of Qatar. In the Arabian Gulf the newbies Mirco Lorenzetto could ( seventh on the second stage ) and Tomas Vaitkus ( ninth in the prologue, eight on the fourth and seventh place on the final stage ) drive out another top ten results for the team. An attack by the Australian Simon Clarke on the third day part of a breakaway group was not rewarded, the young driver one kilometer from the target yet joined them. Alexander Vinokourov began his last season as a professional cyclist in the following Tour of Oman. The leader of the eight -man squad will be Astana was total twelfth. The only top - ten finish in Oman reached Simon Clarke in ninth the second stage. In addition, the first three stages of the Este Tanel Kangert was thanks to several Zeitbonifikationen, which he had brought as an outlier on the first part of the day, in the top ten overall. He finished the tour in 18th place.

The new co-captain Roman Kreuziger began his season, however, in the Algarve Tour. In Portugal, the Czech took the twentieth overall in his first race for his new team. At the third stage, the most difficult section of the race, to Kreuziger was in the group of favorites and finished eighth. A day earlier, already the Kazakh Dmitri Fofonow had a top ten result driven out, as he sprinted to the tenth. Then reached on the fifth section Allan Davis in a bunch sprint to finish fifth. In the final individual time trial Kreuziger missed a good place in the standings because of a wheel change due to a failure during the race. Thus, the Swede Fredrik Kessiakoff was the best-placed rider in 18th place of the eight-member team in the Algarve. Also at the Giro di Sardegna participated in an eight -strong delegation of Astana. Here, the Croatian influx Robert Kiserlovski showed strong performances. The first uphill finish on Monte Ortobene ended the former Liquigas rider in eighth, a day later he showed as a day in ninth again his climbing skills. Even on the difficult last leg of the tour proved Kiserlovski sixth good early form and completed the race in seventh place overall from. The Astana team in the Tour of Sardinia took a day, and on the Classica Sarda, a one-day race in Sardinia, in part. Here, with Paolo Tiralongo and Robert Kiserlovski only two drivers finished the race. Kiserlovski was the seventh place again get a good result.

In March, the team was at the World Tour race Paris-Nice at the start. The captain of the team should be Alexandre Vinokourov, who was looking to win a stage. For this his last Paris-Nice was quite a special race because he had won the " journey to the sun" twice and his star had risen there, but he had lost in 2003 In the same competition Kazakh his friend Andrei Kivilev after a deadly crash. Roman Kreuziger and Robert Kiserlovski should take good ranks in the overall standings for the eight-member selection. At the second stage it tried Tomas Vaitkus 15 kilometers from the finish and shortly after Vinokourov with an attack, but they were not successful. After reaching Vaitkus in the final bunch sprint to ninth place, although he almost fell. One day later the Lithuanians sprinted to eleventh place. In the fourth part of the day, the Frenchman Rémy Di Gregorio went with four other Fahreren shortly after takeoff in a breakaway group. The maximum lead of over five minutes dwindled, but the group was thirteen seconds before the approaching hunting field to the finish. In the sprint, but Di Gregorio had no chance against today's winner Thomas Voeckler and finished fourth. The following day a memory for Sprint Kivilev was extended, in which, although Vinokourov took part, but did not win. Later on the difficult stage made " Vino " on the final climb of the first category tempo for Kreuziger and Di Gregorio, who attacked, but were overtaken by the other favorites again. Finally, but it was Robert Kiserlovski who could pull a gap with other favorites such as Tony Martin. In the sprint, the top group of Croat finished sixth and took the white jersey of best young rider. The following individual time trial Vinokourov was in eleventh best Astana man before finally scored the first win of the season on the seventh stage. The young Frenchman Remy Di Gregorio was the one who attacked 13 kilometers from the finish of the rainy portion and a narrow lead saved to the favorite group to the finish, taking a fall on the slippery roads avoided almost twice. For the Frenchman, who was divorced in the strife of his old team FDJ, it was also the first professional victory. Less fortunate was Vinokourov and Kiserlovski. During the Kazakh at a descent came to the case, the Croat slid under a truck and had to be rushed to a hospital from which he could be but released the next day without serious injuries again. On the same day also the Swede Fredrik Kessiakoff had to abandon the race. After an unsuccessful attack also Vinokourov abandoned the race on the last stage also wet. There Tomas Vaitkus secured in a chase group sprint tenth place on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.

Also at Tirreno- Adriatico presented Astana an eight -strong delegation. In the team time trial, there was only enough for 14th place. In the mass sprint of the second section Mirco Lorenzetto made with the seventh place for a top ten result. The following mountainous stages it was the young Australian Simon Clarke, who in the favorite group was on the road each and finally 15 overall was. Other results could not enter the team.

Captain for the one-day classics Milan - Sanremo was Allan Davis, who had previously finished second and fourth in the " Classicissima ". But at the 102nd edition of the cycling monument Davis had bad luck with two falls. He and most of his teammates were also other favorites such as Mark Cavendish and last year's winner Oscar Freire suspended as.

The next date the 100th staging of the Tour of Catalonia on the program. At the first stage around Lloret de Mar, the Italian climber Paolo Tiralongo binned in the sprint of the field 28 seconds behind runaway Gatis Smukulis the goal reached, in seventh. In addition, Josep jufré could slip over the best of the Catalan rider jersey for two days. Also on the second part of the day was a member of the eight-member delegation Astana finish in the top ten: Valentin Iglinskiy sprinted to ninth. In the fifth stage Francesco Masciarelli was represented in the break of the day, but was found five kilometers before the finish line.

2011 Astana season

Staff

Course of the season

Successes in the UCI World Tour

Successes in the UCI Asia Tour

Successes in the UCI Europe Tour

Departures - Arrivals

Team

Jersey