2012 Astana season

The 2012 season for the Astana cycling team began in January with the Tour Down Under. As a UCI ProTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.

Astana
2012 season
The team car at the 2012 Tour de France
UCI code	AST
Status	UCI ProTeam
World Tour Rank	10th (645 points)[1]
Manager	Giuseppe Martinelli
Main sponsor(s)	Samruk-Kazyna
Based	Kazakhstan
Bicycles	Specialized
Groupset	SRAM?
Season victories
One-day races	2
Stage race overall	3[N 1]
Stage race stages	10[N 1]
National Championships	6
Best ranked rider	Roman Kreuziger (20th)
← 2011 2013 →

2012 roster

Ages as of 1 January 2012.^[4]

Rider Date of birth  Fabio Aru[N 2] (ITA) (1990-07-03)3 July 1990 (aged 21)  Assan Bazayev (KAZ) (1981-02-22)22 February 1981 (aged 30)  Borut Božič (SLO) (1980-08-08)8 August 1980 (aged 31)  Janez Brajkovič (SLO) (1983-12-18)18 December 1983 (aged 28)  Alexsandr Dyachenko (KAZ) (1983-10-17)17 October 1983 (aged 28)  Dmitry Fofonov (KAZ) (1976-08-15)15 August 1976 (aged 35)  Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) (1982-03-22)22 March 1982 (aged 29)  Francesco Gavazzi (ITA) (1984-08-01)1 August 1984 (aged 27)  Dmitriy Gruzdev (KAZ) (1986-03-13)13 March 1986 (aged 25)  Jacopo Guarnieri (ITA) (1987-08-14)14 August 1987 (aged 24)  Andriy Hryvko (UKR) (1983-08-07)7 August 1983 (aged 28)  Maxim Iglinskiy (KAZ) (1981-04-18)18 April 1981 (aged 30)  Valentin Iglinskiy (KAZ) (1984-05-12)12 May 1984 (aged 27)  Tanel Kangert (EST) (1987-03-11)11 March 1987 (aged 24)

Rider Date of birth  Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ) (1980-03-21)21 March 1980 (aged 31)  Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE) (1980-05-17)17 May 1980 (aged 31)  Robert Kišerlovski (CRO) (1986-08-09)9 August 1986 (aged 25)  Roman Kreuziger (CZE) (1986-05-06)6 May 1986 (aged 25)  Francesco Masciarelli[N 3] (ITA) (1986-05-05)5 May 1986 (aged 25)  Dimitry Muravyev (KAZ) (1979-11-02)2 November 1979 (aged 32)  Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (KAZ) (1987-03-12)12 March 1987 (aged 24)  Evgeni Petrov (RUS) (1978-05-25)25 May 1978 (aged 33)  Simone Ponzi (ITA) (1987-01-17)17 January 1987 (aged 24)  Sergey Renev (KAZ) (1985-01-03)3 January 1985 (aged 26)  Kevin Seeldraeyers (BEL) (1986-09-12)12 September 1986 (aged 25)  Egor Silin (RUS) (1988-06-25)25 June 1988 (aged 23)  Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) (1977-07-08)8 July 1977 (aged 34)  Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ) (1973-09-16)16 September 1973 (aged 38)  Andrey Zeits (KAZ) (1986-12-14)14 December 1986 (aged 25)

Riders who joined the team for the 2012 season Rider 2011 team Andrey Kashechkin Lampre–ISD[7] Dimitry Muravyev Team RadioShack[8] Jacopo Guarnieri Liquigas–Cannondale[9] Egor Silin Team Katusha[9] Francesco Gavazzi Lampre–ISD[9] Kevin Seeldraeyers Quick-Step[10] Borut Božič Vacansoleil–DCM[10] Janez Brajkovič Team RadioShack[11] Dmitriy Gruzdev stagiaire (Astana)[12] Simone Ponzi Liquigas–Cannondale[13]

Riders who left the team during or after the 2011 season Rider 2012 team Rémy Di Gregorio Cofidis[14] Simon Clarke GreenEDGE[15] Tomas Vaitkus GreenEDGE[16] Allan Davis GreenEDGE[17] Mirco Lorenzetto Retired[18] Gorazd Štangelj Retired[19] Roman Kireyev Retired[20] Maxim Gourov None Josep Jufré Retired[21] Andrey Mizurov Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team[13]

Season victories

Date	Race	Competition	Rider	Country	Location
21 March	Volta a Catalunya, Stage 3	UCI World Tour	Janez Brajkovič (SLO)	Spain	Canturri
15 April	Amstel Gold Race	UCI World Tour	Enrico Gasparotto (ITA)	Netherlands	Valkenburg
22 April	Liège–Bastogne–Liège	UCI World Tour	Maxim Iglinsky (KAZ)	Belgium	Liège
24 April	Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, Stage 3[N 1]	UCI Europe Tour	Alexsandr Dyachenko (KAZ)	Turkey	Elmalı
29 April	Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, Overall[N 1]	UCI Europe Tour	Alexsandr Dyachenko (KAZ)	Turkey
29 April	Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey, Teams classification	UCI Europe Tour	[N 4]	Turkey
12 May	Giro d'Italia, Stage 7	UCI World Tour	Paolo Tiralongo (ITA)	Italy	Rocca di Cambio
25 May	Giro d'Italia, Stage 19	UCI World Tour	Roman Kreuziger (CZE)	Italy	Alpe di Pampeago
14 June	Tour of Slovenia, Stage 1	UCI Europe Tour	Simone Ponzi (ITA)	Slovenia	Novo Mesto
15 June	Tour de Suisse, Stage 7	UCI World Tour	Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE)	Switzerland	Gossau
17 June	Tour de Suisse, Stage 9	UCI World Tour	Tanel Kangert (EST)	Switzerland	Sörenberg
17 June	Tour de Suisse, Teams classification	UCI World Tour	[N 5]	Switzerland
17 June	Tour of Slovenia, Overall	UCI Europe Tour	Janez Brajkovič (SLO)	Slovenia
29 August	Vuelta a España, Stage 11	UCI World Tour	Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE)	Spain	Pontevedra
11 October	Tour of Beijing, Stage 3	UCI World Tour	Francesco Gavazzi (ITA)	China	Badaling Great Wall
26 October	Tour of Hainan, Stage 7	UCI Asia Tour	Dmitriy Gruzdev (KAZ)	China	Wuzhishan
28 October	Tour of Hainan, Overall	UCI Asia Tour	Dmitriy Gruzdev (KAZ)	China
28 October	Tour of Hainan, Teams classification	UCI Asia Tour	[N 6]	China

Footnotes

1. Alexsandr Dyachenko gained a stage win as well as the overall victory in the Tour of Turkey, after initial winner Ivailo Gabrovski tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) during the event.^[2][3]
2. Aru joined the team on 1 August, as a stagiaire, from Palazzago-Elledent-RAD Logistica.^[5]
3. Masciarelli left the team on 6 June.^[6]
4. The riders on the squad were Alexander Vinokourov, Assan Bazayev, Alexsandr Dyachenko, Dmitriy Gruzdev, Jacopo Guarnieri, Valentin Iglinsky, Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy and Andrey Zeits
5. The riders on the squad were Jacopo Guarnieri, Assan Bazayev, Tanel Kangert, Francesco Gavazzi, Dimitry Muravyev, Fredrik Kessiakoff, Robert Kišerlovski and Roman Kreuziger
6. The riders on the squad were Valentin Iglinsky, Dmitriy Gruzdev, Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy, Sergey Renev, Andrey Zeits and Alexsandr Dyachenko

References

1. "UCI Rankings". uci.org. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
2. "Ivailo Gabrovski provisionally suspended". UCI.ch. Union Cycliste Internationale. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
3. Stokes, Shane (14 September 2012). "Tour of Turkey winner Gabrovski faces disqualification with B sample also positive for EPO". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
4. "Astana Pro Team (AST) – KAZ". UCI World Tour. Union Cycliste Internationale. Retrieved 16 January 2012.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
5. Breban, Renaud (25 July 2012). "Fabio Aru stagiaire chez Astana" [Fabio Aru an intern at Astana]. Cyclism'Actu (in French). Swar-Agency. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
6. "Masciarelli quits Astana over health problems". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
7. "Kashechkin rejects suggestions he'll be with RusVelo rather than Astana in 2012". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
8. ""Pro Team Astana" signed Dmitriy Muravyev". astana.lu. Astana. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
9. "Egor Silin, Francesco Gavazzi and Jacopo Guarnieri will join the team for 2012 & 2013 seasons". astana.lu. Astana. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2012.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
10. "Astana signs Borut Božič and Kevin Seeldraeyers". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. 19 September 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
11. "Brajkovic joins Astana". VeloNews. Competitor Group, Inc. Agence France-Presse. 30 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
12. Stokes, Shane (20 December 2011). "Vinokourov to lead strong Astana team at the Tour de Langkawi". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
13. "Transferts 2011-2012" [Transfers 2011-2012]. Velochrono.fr (in French). Velochrono. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
14. "Di Gregorio joins Cofidis; Quick Step hires Polish riders". VeloNews. Competitor Group, Inc. 5 August 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
15. Aubrey, Jane (23 August 2011). "Clarke bound for GreenEdge". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
16. Aubrey, Jane (29 August 2011). "Versatile Vaitkus leaves Astana for GreenEdge". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
17. "Davis joins GreenEdge, with London Games in sights". VeloNews. Competitor Group, Inc. Agence France-Presse. 20 September 2011. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
18. "Lorenzetto calls time on career". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 2 December 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
19. Wilcockson, John (7 November 2011). "Inside Cycling with John Wilcockson: This year's retirees just faded away". VeloNews. Competitor Group, Inc. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
20. Ryan, Barry (24 August 2011). "Astana reduces roster thanks to Kireyev retirement". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
21. Moore, Kyle (16 January 2012). "Josep Jufré calls it a career at age 36". VeloNation. VeloNation LLC. Retrieved 16 January 2012.