Another star rider has vented his frustration that Astana have been given a WorldTour license. Former world champion Tony Martin makes it clear that he regards the decision as unfair.

Tony Martin has criticized the decision to grant Astana a WorldTour license. "It is a like a slap in the fave when a team that is heavily accused of doping, gets a WorldTour license. You can only speculate about the reasons but the verdict is in any case not fair. I am puzzled," the three-time time trial world champion told "Donaukurier" in an interview.

According to Martin, there will be "a big question mark" behind every win by an Astana rider. He hopes "that all eyes and ears are now focused on this team" and "that the team is now controlled two-time or three-time as much."

Astana manager Alexandre Vinokourov who tested positive for blood doping at the 2007 Tour de France and has been heavily involved in the Padova investigation, has claimed that the "European press" is trying to kill his team. He mainly claims that the Italian media wants to destroy the squad as they find it hard to accept that Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali has joined the Kazakh team.

Astana-Manager Alexander Winokurow, als Profi 2007 selbst des Blutdopings überführt und durch Ermittlungsergebnisse der