Having stepped down to pro continental level, Luis Leon Sanchez may be on his way back to the WorldTour. According to El Periodico journalist Sergi Egea-Lopez, the Spaniard has reached an agreement to ride for Astana in 2015.

Luis Leon Sanchez saw his career unravel when his links to several doping investigations in Spain, most notably Operacion Puerto, cause the Belkin team to suspend him at the beginning of the 2013 season. Having returned to competition in May, the parties later agreed to terminate the contract and Sanchez had a hard time finding a new team.

Caja Rural threw a lifeline at the last moment and this year Sanchez has been back in his home country riding for the pro continental team. However, he has done nothing to hide that he aims to return to the WorldTour and now an opportunity may have opened up.

According to El Periodico journalist Sergi Egea-Lopez, Sanchez has made an agreement with Astana that will see him ride for the team in 2015. The strong all-rounder will bolster the team in stage races where they aim to build a strong block around Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru.

Sanchez got a great start to his time with his new team, winning his very first race in stage 1 of La Tropical Amissa Bongo. Since then, however, he has been set back by a virus and has recently taken a small break in an attempt to recover from the illness. He returned to competition at the Spanish championships where he finished 4th in yesterday's road race.

If the rumours are true, UCI rules prevent the team from making an official announcement before the August 1 deadline.