Kummer to be Astaná's sporting director

By Susan Westemeyer

Team Astaná has hired Mario Kummer as Sporting Director, the team for the coming year, the team announced Monday morning. Under the leadership of Technical Director Walter Godefroot, he will work together with Director Sportif Alexandre Shefer, Giovanni Fidanza and Adriano Baffi.

"It is a big challenge for me to work together with this new team. The team will shine in the coming years with its outstanding riders,” said 44 year-old German, Kummer. Team director Marc Biver added, "I am happy that we were able to get someone like Mario Kummer who is such a cycling expert. His competence and experience will be a big advantage for our team."

Kummer rode professionally until 1997. From 2000 until this year, he was Sporting Director at Team Telekom/Team T-Mobile. At Astaná, he will join not only former T-Mobile colleagues Godefroot and Fidanza, but also riders Andreas Klöden, Matthias Kessler, Eddy Mazzoleni and Serguei Ivanov.