Okishev becomes fourth Astana positive

Victor Okishev of the Astana Continental team has become the fourth Astana-affiliated rider to test positive in the last year. The 20-year old has returned an adverse analytical finding for Anabolic Androgenic Steroids at the Asian Championships in May 2014.

Okishev had won the under-twenty three time trial at the Asian Championships where he returned the positive test. He is the second rider from the Astana Continental team to test positive, and the fourth rider from the Astana programme after both the Iglinskiy brothers' tests and Ilya Davidenok. 

The positive test piles the pressure on the Astana WorldTour team who are under scrutiny from the UCI's License Commission. Many in the cycling world are calling for the team led by the notorious Alexandre Vinokourov to lose their WorldTour license. 

The most scrutiny on the team came from Maxim Iglinskiy's positive test, as he was part of Vincenzo Nibali's Tour de France winning squad this July. UCI President Brian Cookson has stated the License Commission will be conducting a full review of the Astana squad's status.