THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING »

Get the VeloNews Email Newsletter FREE

  Learn More | Archive
Home » Top Stories » Road »

Bruyneel says money is still not forthcoming from Astana

By Agence France Presse
Published: Jun. 5, 2009

Astana has yet to pay a bank guarantee on which their racing future depends, manager Johan Bruyneel said Friday.

"The problem has not yet been sorted," Bruyneel told AFP regarding pending
payments due from the Kazakh cycling federation, the team's owner.

In midweek, the UCI said the team had provided financial guarantees which would allowing Astana to retain their license.

But Bruyneel explained there were still loose ends to tie up.

"The bank guarantee which was incomplete has been reconstituted, that is
true — but no transfer has been made into the (team) accounts since the Giro ended," Bruyneel said.

He added the team would wear the same jerseys as in the Giro d'Italia, which ended last week, for Sunday's Criterium Dauphine Libere at Nancy, France, with the mention of the main sponsor, Astana, all but blocked out.

Suggesting that a solution would soon be "in sight" given Wednesday's UCI
statement, Bruyneel said that the Astana cash was due in four installments.

"At the start of the Giro only a part of the first installment was paid. During the Giro, two payments followed but that corresponding to April 1 was incomplete," he explained.

The UCI had threatened to rescind the team's ProTour license after the team's wages were reportedly not paid for two months.

Astana had been told to provide the bank guarantees by May 31.

"The UCI has verified that Astana has fulfilled the conditions," the organization said Wednesday, while adding it would keep a close eye on further developments.