Astana

Where do you start with a team like Astana? Ten Grand Tours courtesy of Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador, plus a hat-full of podiums from a supporting cast of Levi Leipheimer, Andreas Kloden, Yaroslav Popovych and Haimar Zubeldia suggest that the Kazakh galácticos are unstoppable. Yet, as the saying goes, paper teams win paper trophies, and despite picking up over thirty wins in 2008 they’re not guaranteed major tour success in 2009. Payment problems during the spring of 2009 could mean a new sponsor takes over in the coming months but if you’re looking for a weakness, look no further than their strength in one-dayers and that all their top guns, bar Contador, are starting to creak with age.

Top Stars:

Lance Armstrong: He’s the most marketable rider the sport has ever seen, so it’s no real shock that he doesn’t need to draw a salary from his Kazakh employers. At 38 he brings vast experience, the entourage of a film star and plenty of press exposure. He can still ride a bit too.

Alberto Contador: Stunned everyone with his Tour de France win in 2007 but the Spaniard quickly backed that up by becoming the youngest ever rider to take all three Grand Tours – and he did it all within eighteen month. Not even Armstrong could do that and quite simply, he’s the most talented rider of his generation.

One to watch:

With a line-up dominated by riders closer to drawing their pensions than their first racing licences, we’re going out on a limb by picking Daniel Navarro. Apparently he was teaching the elder statesmen of the team a thing or two at Astana’s team training camp in December.