# Igor Astarloa

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

## Career

Astarloa turned professional with the Italian cycling team Mercatone Uno and enjoyed his best season in 2003 with team Saeco when he won the Flèche Wallonne and the road race title at the World Cycling Championships at Hamilton, Canada. The following year, he joined Cofidis, but when the team temporarily stopped racing due to a doping scandal, he was released to join Lampre. 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.

## 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

### 2000

    9th Road race, National Road Championships
    9th Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi

### 2001

    1st GP Primavera
    5th GP Miguel Induráin
    6th Clásica de Almería
    7th HEW Cyclassics

### 2002

    1st Overall Brixia Tour
       1st Stage 2a
    2nd Clásica de San Sebastián
    2nd HEW Cyclassics
    2nd Japan Cup
    7th Paris–Tours

### 2003

    1st Road race, 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 Brixia Tour
       1st Points classification
       1st Stage 1

### 2005

    Vuelta a Burgos
       1st Points classification
       1st Stage 2
    4th Overall Brixia Tour
    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

| Grand Tour | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Giro d'Italia | — | 53 | — | 55 | — | — | — | DNF |
| Tour de France | Has not contested during his career | Has not contested during his career | Has not contested during his career | Has not contested during his career | Has not contested during his career | Has not contested during his career | Has not contested during his career | Has not contested during his career |
| Vuelta a España | DNF | 63 | DNF | DNF | — | — | — | — |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |