History
The cycling project was launched in very end of 2008, when on December 22 a new Katusha Team was inaugurated in Moscow. The team was created on the base of Tinkoff Credit Systems squad and practically organised by the Russian Global Cycling Project foundation, which itself is funded by Russian businesses such as Gazprom, Itera and Rostechnologii.
The team was launched with a large budget of over €15 million. In its first official season it signed leading cyclists such as Robbie McEwen, Vladimir Karpets, Filippo Pozzato, and Gert Steegmans. The team first raced at the 2009 Tour Down Under.
During the 2009 season, the team earned 23 wins. Some of the notable wins were Sergei Ivanov’s Amstel Gold victory, Filippo Pozzato's Italian road title and triumph at Giro del Veneto. Antonio Colom and Christian Pfannberger tested positive for EPO.
After the 2012 season, Katusha lost their UCI World Tour license, despite having in their ranks the champion of the 2012 season (Joaquim Rodriguez) and finishing the 2012 UCI World Tour team rankings in second position. The team appealed that decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and it was announced on 15 February 2013 that the decision of the UCI was overturned and that Katusha would be part of the 2013 UCI World Tour.
Read more about this topic: Team Katusha
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