After Astana rides Nibali to win, Kazakhstan wants piece of Tour de France

With Vincenzo Nibali's victory putting Team Astana on top, the country with the team's namesake capital wants to host the tour.

Italy's Vincenzo Nibali won the 2014 Tour de France as a member of Team Astana. Jeff Pachoud / AFP

After a team with ties to Kazakhstan won the Tour de France on Sunday, the Central Asian state now wants to host the Tour, a top official said yesterday.

Rejoicing after Vincenzo Nibali of the government-backed Astana team clinched victory on Sunday, left, Kairat Kelimbetov, president of Kazakh Cycling, said his country wants to host the start of the race, like England did this year.

Kelimbetov, who is also head of Kazakhstan’s central bank, said the idea may seem crazy, but his oil-rich country is serious and is negotiating for a chance before 2020.

The northern English county of Yorkshire staged the first three days of this year’s Tour de France.

“It’s like a joke now, but this Yorkshire experience is very interesting for us,” he said.

“The Tour de France has become global and cycling has become global and everyone was absolutely excited when five million people came onto the streets in England.

“The idea is to one day bring it to Kazakhstan. It took three years for Yorkshire to be prepared, and I think we could deliver it also.”

It is 4,800 kilometres (3,000 miles) from Astana, capital of the world’s biggest landlocked country, to Paris.

But Kelimbetov said the western tip of Kazakhstan is part of Europe, “so why not?” Kazakhstan will host the world junior cycling championships next year.

The cycling chief said he asked the UCI, cycling’s governing body, about staging the world cycling and road racing championships after 2018. The country’s former capital, Almaty, is also challenging Oslo and Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE