42nd Amstel Gold - Astana Team Preview
The team in the aqua & gold jerseys emblazoned with the sun brings an international wrecking crew of talent to the Amstel Gold race.

Bart Hazen

The swiss based team of Astana will field a many talented strong team to the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday April 22. Astana will start with Rene Haselbacher (Austria), Thomas Frei (Switzerland), Guennadi Mikhailov (Russia), Matthias Kessler (Germany), Sergei Ivanov (Russia), Maxim Iglinskiy (Kazakstan), Koen de Kort (The Netherlands) and Assan Bazayev (Kazakstan).

Maxim Iglinskiy (Kazakstan)  Photo c. Bart Hazen

It’s a mix between young talented riders and experienced riders. With Sergei Ivanov and Matthias Kessler they have two riders who can finish in the top 10.

Matthias Kessler (Germany) Photo c. Bart Hazen

For Kessler the roads are well-known. In July 2006 Kessler won the Tour de France stage to Valkenburg in the colors of T-Mobile. Valkenburg is very proud of Kessler's victory.

Rene Haselbacher (Austria)   Photo c. Bart Hazen

Other riders to watch for are Rene Haselbacher who rode well in the Algarve and Koen de Kort.

Koen de Kort (The Netherlands)   Photo c. Bart Hazen

Koen de Kort is riding a kind of home race here and is probably very motivated for the race. A nice detail; in the team it’s not Koen de Kort but on his bike you can read Koen de Koert (see below).

De Koert's bike.     Photo c. Bart Hazen

Astana Squad:
Rene Haselbacher (Austria)
Thomas Frei (Switzerland)
Guennadi Mikhailov (Russia)
Matthias Kessler (Germany)
Sergei Ivanov (Russia)
Maxim Iglinskiy (Kazakstan)
Koen de Kort (The Netherlands)
Assan Bazayev (Kazakstan)

Thomas Frei (Switzerland)  Photo c. Bart Hazen

Guennadi Mikhailov (Russia)   Photo c. Bart Hazen