Igor Astarloa

54
Igor Astarloa bigraphy, stories - Road bicycle racer

Igor Astarloa : biography

29 March 1976 –

Igor Astarloa Askasibar (born March 29, 1976 in Ermua, Basque Country) is a retired cyclist from Spain.

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.

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. 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.

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.

Major achievements

2002
1st, Brixia Tour overall and stage 2
2003
20px Winner, Road Race World Championship
1st, La Flèche Wallonne
10th, Amstel Gold Race
1st, Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana stage 3
2004
1st, Brixia Tour stage 2
Member, Summer Olympics Men’s Road Race
2005
1st, Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos stage 2
2006
1st, Milano–Torino
2nd, Stage 4, Tirreno–Adriatico