Astana tour win may boost investment, Kazakh central banker says
Nibali yesterday became the first Italian to win the three-week cycling race since Marco Pantani in 1998 after dominating from the early stages. The 29-year-old rides for the Astana Pro Team, which is financially supported by the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund of Kazakhstan.
"For us the win of Vincenzo Nibali is not just a sports result, but also a contribution to the program of bringing foreign direct investment to Kazakhstan," Kairat Kelimbetov, who heads up the country's central bank, said in an interview yesterday, Bloomberg reports.
The Central Asian country invests up to $150 million a year into its multi-sport Astana Pro Team. Named after the Kazakh capital, it covers eight sports including cycling as well as two individual athletes. Astana's annual budget for its pro cycling team alone is 15 million euros ($20.2 million), according to Kelimbetov.
The Astana Pro Team "is part of our big public relations project," to raise the country's profile, said Kelimbetov, a former deputy Prime Minister who is also the president of Kazakh Cycling. Because cycling is popular the world over, the Astana team functions "as one of the ambassadors around the world for Kazakhstan, which lets people know more about us." Details also at
