Kazakh rider Alexander Vinokourov has been banned for two years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following a doping offence in the 2007 Tour de France, CAS said yesterday.

Vinokourov had been suspended for only one year by the Kazakh federation after testing positive for blood doping in July 2007, prompting the International Cycling Union (UCI) to seek a two-year ban before the CAS.

The case was withdrawn by the UCI when Vinokourov said he was retiring from the sport.

But the sport's governing body reopened the case when the former Kazakh champion said he was planning to ride in this year's Giro d'Italia.

"The decision adopted on December 5, 2007 by the Anti-Doping Commission of the Kazakhstan Cycling Federation is set aside," CAS said in a statement.

"Mr Vinokurov committed an anti-doping rule violation and is declared ineligible for a period of two years commencing on July 24, 2007.

"Mr Vinokurov will be eligible to compete in international competitions as of July 24, 2009."

Meanwhile, Astana have suspended their Kazakh rider Assan Bazayev for two weeks because he did not provide thorough information on his whereabouts for the purposes of drug testing.