Astana given 2015 UCI WorldTour licence despite failed drugs tests but Europcar have application rejected

Astana will retain their place in cycling's top tier in 2015

Astana have been given a WorldTour licence for 2015 despite a spate of doping offences in recent months, but Europcar have been thrown out of cycling's top tier on financial grounds.

Astana's licence was under review after five riders belonging to their senior and development teams failed drugs tests this year.

The International Cycling Union's Licence Commission has opted not to demote the Kazakh squad at this time, but has ordered an audit of their practises and placed them on probation.

A UCI statement said: "The ISSUL [Institute of Sport Sciences of the University of Lausanne] will look into the circumstances of the doping cases at stake to determine whether and to what extent the team and or/its management is responsible of the recent events."

Europcar axed

The Licence Commission added: "In the event that the audit would lead to reveal deficiencies or in case of faulty implementation of the internal operational requirements or if another doping case would occur within the Team during the 2015 season, the UCI would refer the matter to the Licence Commission for a determination on an eventual withdrawal of the licence.”

In the case of Europcar, who will lose their current title sponsor at the end of 2015, the Licence Commission said the French team "does not fulfil the financial criteria" for a place on the WorldTour and will now look to register them in cycling's second tier, the Professional Continental tour.

UCI president Brian Cookson said: "In the case of the Astana Pro Team, this remains a very serious situation for our sport given the number of doping cases. We shall be following the situation very closely and are awaiting to review the results of the audit. Astana Pro Team can be considered very much to be on probation.

"Regarding Team Europcar, it is of course regrettable that the team has not been able to secure sufficient financial guarantees to remain in the UCI WorldTour, but I very much hope that they can continue as a Professional Continental Team."

Five failed tests

Astana’s problems began in September when it emerged that Valentin Iglinskiy had tested positive for EPO on August 11, with news then following that Valentin’s brother Maxim Iglinksiy had returned traces of the same banned substance at a doping control on August 1, five days after helping Vincenzo Nibali to victory at the Tour de France.

It then came to light that three riders from Astana Continental, the team’s under-23 development squad, had also failed doping controls, with Ilya Davidenok, Viktor Okishev and Artur Fedosseyev all testing positive for steroids.

The Licence Commission made its decision solely on the failed tests and did not take into consideration recent media reports of links between the team and Michele Ferrari, the disgraced Italian doctor who was a key cog in Lance Armstrong’s doping regime and is banned for life.

Ferrari has been the subject of a four-year investigation by police in Padova, Italy, and was reported by the Italian newspaper Gazzetta della Sport on Monday to have been photographed by officers at an Astana training camp in November 2013.

Astana celebrate

The paper followed the revelation up on Wednesday by listing 38 riders from across cycling, and 17 from Astana, who have links with Ferrari. The names include Michele Scarponi, Roman Kreuziger, Giovanni Visconti, Borut Bozic, Jose Joaquin Rojas, Filippo Pozzato and Alexandre Vinokourov, the Astana team manager.

The 550-page Padova report has been passed on to the Italian Olympic Committee and the UCI will also review the findings.

Astana celebrated the news of the renewal of their licence with a statement that read: "Astana Pro Team is happy and proud to announce that we have received a 2015 WorldTour Licence and will race at the highest level of the sport in the upcoming season."

In a subsequent statement sent to Sky Sports, they added: "We will go back to training tomorrow and we look forward to defending the yellow jersey at next year's Tour de France."