More Discovery riders to Astana

The mass migration from Discovery Channel to Team Astana is continuing. Yesterday the American team, which is ending at the end of the year, confirmed that Janez Brajkovic, Benjamin Noval, Sergio Paulinho and Tomas Vaitkus will all be joining the Kazakh team. Brajkovic was initially confirmed to be joining the T-Mobile squad, but the Slovenian changed his mind.

The four riders will again encounter former team-mates Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer, as well as Team Manager Johan Bruyneel and Directeur Sportif Sean Yates.

The goal is clear. Kazakhstan hopes that by acquiring Discovery Channel to win next year's Tour de France, Danial Akhmetov, the head of the Kazakh Cycling Federation said on Wednesday. "We, the Astana team, must win the Tour de France next year. We will win. It's our main goal," Akhmetov told press agency Reuters. Akhmetov added that "I am convinced that certain difficulties that have emerged within the team are already behind us. The best managers, the best athletes believe in Astana's future."

Akhmetov made clear that "We believe in the anti-doping charter and will abide by it strictly. Any athlete caught doping should be punished. This is what stands behind the integrity of this sport."