Astana (UCI team code: AST) is a professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by the Astana group, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan and named after its capital city Astana. Astana attained UCI ProTeam status in its inaugural year, 2007. Following a major doping scandal, team management was terminated and new management brought in for the 2008 season. The team is currently managed by Johan Bruyneel, former team manager of U.S. Postal/Discovery Channel team. Although Astana under Bruyneel has been very successful, with a lineup including Grand Tour winners Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong, as well as runners-up Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Klöden, the team was on the verge of financial collapse in May 2009, and its future makeup beyond the 2009 Tour de France remains in doubt due to the impending return of Kazakh rider Alexander Vinokourov. [source]
