Barred from Tour of France and Giro d'Italia, Astana invited to race at Vuelta

The Astana cycling team will take part in the Spanish Vuelta despite being barred from the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia because of doping violations.

Astana was among 20 teams invited to Spain's premier cycling race. Organizers said Tuesday all met the "maximum requirements in terms of ethics, image and administration."

Last year, Astana rider Alexandre Vinokourov was caught blood doping during the Tour. Teammate Andrej Kashechkin …