Igor Astarloa Askasibar (born March 29, 1976 in Ermua,

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

) is a retired cyclist from Spain.

Career

Astarloa turned professional with the Italian cycling team and enjoyed his best season in 2003 with team when he won the Flèche Wallonne and the road race title at the World Cycling Championships at Hamilton, Canada. The following year, he joined , but when the team temporarily stopped racing due to a doping scandal, he was released to join . During the 2006 transfer season it was announced that he was to leave Team Barloworld, the Continental Circuit team for which Astarloa had ridden for the last several years, and join Team Milram, a member of the

UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, e ...

. Team Milram terminated its contract with Astarloa in May 2008 following disclosures that he had shown "irregular blood values", as reported by Focus magazine. He joined the Amica Chips-Knauf team, which folded in May 2009. Soon after, in June 2009, Astarloa was one of the first five riders to fall foul of the Union Cycliste International's new biological passport system, introduced to combat doping by competitive cyclists. Astarloa was unable to secure another contract that season, and retired in January 2010.

Doping conviction

On 1 December 2010, the Union Cycliste International announced that the Spanish Cycling Federation’s Disciplinary Commission had handed down a two-year suspension and a €35,000 fine to Igor Astarloa. According to Cyclingnews.com, Astarloa's blood samples had come under considerable scrutiny prior to the events of 2008-09 and in the wake of his 2003 world championships victory, although he was never punished for any infraction.

Major results

;1999 : 4th

Gran Premio della Liberazione Gran Premio della Liberazione is an Italian road bicycle race that has been held annually on 25 April since 1946. It marks the anniversary of the 1945 fall of Benito Mussolini's Italian Social Republic. It is a Single-day race that is rated 1.2 ...

;2000 : 9th

Road race Road racing, road race of road racer may refer to: * Road racing in motorsport * Road running on foot * Road bicycle racing * ''Road Race'', initial name of 1976 arcade game ''Fonz'' (video game) * Roadracers (1994 film) * Roadracers (1959 fi ...

, National Road Championships : 9th Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi ;2001 : 1st

GP Primavera The Klasika Primavera ( en, Spring classic) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April in Amorebieta, Spain. Since 2005, the race is organised as a 1.1 1.1 may refer to: * 1.1.1.1, a Domain Name System service * 1.1-inch/75-cali ...

: 5th GP Miguel Induráin : 6th

Clásica de Almería The Clásica de Almería ( en, Classic of Almería) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in February or March in Almería, Spain, starting and finishing in Almería itself. Established in 1986, the race was run as an amateur event ...

: 7th HEW Cyclassics ;2002 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Brixia Tour The Brixia Tour was an Italian cycle road race held annually in the province of Brescia, Lombardy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing c ...

:: 1st Stage 2a : 2nd Clásica de San Sebastián : 2nd HEW Cyclassics : 2nd Japan Cup : 7th

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200&nbs ...

;2003 : 1st Jersey rainbow

, UCI Road World Championships : 1st La Flèche Wallonne : 1st Stage 3 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana : 3rd Rund um den Henninger Turm : 4th HEW Cyclassics : 10th Amstel Gold Race ;2004 : 2nd GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano : 3rd HEW Cyclassics : 4th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico : 6th Milan–San Remo : 9th Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 1 ;2005 : Vuelta a Burgos ::1st Jersey green

Points classification ::1st Stage 2 : 4th Overall

: 5th Paris–Brussels : 6th Coppa Placci : 7th Gran Premio de Llodio : 10th Clásica de San Sebastián ;2006 : 1st Milano–Torino : 6th Overall Critérium International : 8th Gran Premio di Chiasso

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links