Astana will line up at the Tour Down Under with a team that is almost exclusively made up of new signings. Former winner Luis Leon Sanchez will lead the team and he will be supported by riders like Dario Cataldo, Davide Malacarne and Lieuwe Westra who may also target a good result in the overall standings.

The Astana Pro Team is returning to South Australia with a new lineup for the 2015 Santos Tour Down Under. 

The team from Kazakhstan will be led by 2005 Santos Tour Down Under champion Luis Leon Sanchez who is a new signing for the Astana team.

Race Director, Mike Turtur says it is always fantastic to welcome back to the peloton a previous winner of the Santos Tour Down Under. 

“Sanchez has a good history with our event,” said Turtur. “As well as taking the overall victory in 2005, he also claimed the Young Rider Classification that same year.

“It has been a few years since he has taken to the start line in Adelaide but his history here includes second overall in both 2006 and 2010, so we can’t wait to see him compete.”

Sanchez won the 2009 Paris-Nice as well as the one-day Clásica de San Sebastián (San Sebastian Classic) in 2010 and 2012. 

“Sanchez is a four time Tour de France stage winner and a four-time Spanish Time Trial Champion,” said Turtur. “He is an accomplished rider, making him a strong leader for the team and someone we hope will perform well.”

Sanchez will be joined by 2014 Tour de France stage winner, Dutch rider Lars Boom and Italian Dario Cataldo. Cataldo won a stage of the Vuelta a Espana in 2012 and was Italian Time Trial Champion in 2012.

Laurens de Vreese won the U23 Belgian Road Championship in 2010 and is another new member of the team..

The team will be led by Team Manager Gorazd Stangelj with riders Davide Malacarne (ITA), Ruslan Tleubayev (KAZ) and Lieuwe Westra (NED) completing the lineup.