Astana have been questioned for appointing ex-doper Dmitriy Fofanov as their new team manager after Giuseppe Martinelli opted to just be a DS for the team in 2016. Fofanov tested positive for the stimulant heptimanol during the 2008 Tour de France.

"It's the past and I can't do anything about it now," Fofonov tells Cyclingnews of the 2008 case. "Even so, it's now six years since I won my case and showed that the doctor committed the error. But look, I can't go back and search for excuses. I know there will be people who will say 'Ah, he's got a past, he's had a positive test' but I know that I have nothing to reproach myself for."

The 39 year old Kazakh spoke highly of the veteran Italian Martinelli, whose shoes he will now attempt to fill.

"You can't say that Martinelli's been removed from the team. We made a decision together. Giuseppe works well and I have a lot of respect for his experience. He will continue to work with us. He wanted more serenity by working solely as a directeur sportif," Fofonov says.

Fofanov knows that not everyone will like his team and he says that he places results over everything else as cycling is a competitive sport, after all. Nonetheless, he is striving to see the Kazakh team’s reputation improve.

“In high-level sport, you live by your results," he says. "Now of course we want a good image for the team as well as victories, but when you're talking about the team's image, there will always people who like you and people who don't. You can't appeal to everybody, but if you look at the last few years, the team has made a lot of progress.”