In what appears to be a peculiar pairing, the Astana team has signed up former top sprinter Djamolidine Abdoujaparov to help the GC rider Andrey Kashechkin (pictured) to prepare for the upcoming Vuelta a España.
Both individuals were part of meeting held in Cannes yesterday, along with Kazakhstan Cycling Federation president Kairat Kelimbetov and a representative of the team’s top sponsor Samruk Kazyna, namely Darkhan Kaletayev.
The management and sponsor wished Kashechkin luck in the upcoming race, and the same sentiments to Abdoujaparov in his work with the team. According to Astanafans.com, the former is taking up a new position as advisor to the squad.
Kashechkin has negotiated a mid-season transfer from the Lampre-ISD team. He placed third in the 2006 Vuelta, also winning a stage, and also finished third in both the Deutschland Tour and the Clasica San Sebastian that year. He targeted the Tour de France in 2007 and took third in the Tour de Romandie and the Dauphine Libere as part of his buildup.
However he tested positive for a homologous blood transfusion in the 2007 Tour and, like-then team-mate Alexandre Vinokourov, had a lengthy suspension.
He hasn’t reached the same level since, placing 17th overall in last year’s Vuelta. He has said he believes a top five finish is possible this time round.
Abdoujaparov was a professional between 1990 and 1997 and is one of a very small group of riders to take the points classification in all three Grand Tours. He won the green jersey in the 1991, 1993 and 1994 Tours de France, and also clocked up a total of nine sprint victories there.
His other results include wins in Gent Wevelgem plus stages in events such as the Tour de Suisse, Tour of Holland, Paris-Nice and Tour de Trump.
His career ended under a cloud when he tested positive several times during the 2007 season. Since then he has been seldom seen at the sport’s top events, but his new role reflects a bigger involvement.