Why Vincenzo Nibali Needs To Get Off The Sinking Astana Ship

It's been a tough couple of months for Astana since the conclusion of the Tour de France in July. Instead of all the attention being on their Tour champion Vincenzo Nibali, the attention is on their damaging triple-positive drug test results. First Valentin Iglinskiy, then his brother Maxim, and most recently stagiaire Ilya Davidenok all tested positive, the two brothers for EPO, and Davidenok anabolic steroids. 

The resulting backlash against the Vinokourov-led team has prompted the UCI to pledge to review its license, and for UCI President Brian Cookson to have a meeting with Alexander Vinokourov, the team manager who is hardly known as a beacon of clean cycling, to reassure the governing body of the team's anti-doping commitments. 

Vincenzo Nibali has not been completely left out of the firing line. It has put a mark on what was a blemish-free Tour win in terms of doping possibility. Many writers and critics pledged their belief that Nibali was a champion we could believe in, but the fact that members of his squad are testing positive does not bode well. 

It is still my belief that Nibali did infact win the Tour de France clean, and the Sicilian has been quick to defend his team and renounce those who tested positive as 'stupid.' However, repercussions from the triple-positive might still reach the affable Italian. The UCI seem serious on the prospect of reviewing Astana's WorldTour license, and if they were to be stripped of this they would have to rely on invitations from race organisers to ride in the biggest races in the cycling calendar.

Although it may not be an issue for Nibali to secure the Astana team invitations to the big Italian races such as the Giro d'Italia, the big French races, and particularly the ASO controlled races may be difficult for the Kazakh outfit. Even if they have a WorldTour license ASO may not be keen to allow the team to ride in their races in light of the recent positives, and they are unlikely to secure a wildcard invitation without a license.

This is because of ASO's troubled history with the team. When the Tour de France wasn't part of the UCI ProTour in 2008, they refused to let the Kazakh team ride their race, despite defending champion Alberto Contador headlining the squad. The team also helped facilitate the comeback of Lance Armstrong into the sport in 2009. ASO will also not forget that the 2010 race was won by Contador in Astana colours, a title he was later stripped of after a positive test for clenbuterol.

It may be late in the day in terms of transfers, but a Tour de France champion would be sought after on any team, especially one that despite his team's recent past, had a blemish free Tour win. Vincenzo Nibali should get off the sinking Astana ship before it falls down around his ears, and he is stuck in a Professional Continental team which struggles to get invites to the races The Shark of Messina should be targetting.