Astana team announced today its drop out from the Tour de France after their rider Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan tested positive for a banned blood transfusion.

Corinne Druey, the spokeswoman of Astana team confirmed today press reports and announced the drop out from the race. "Vino has tested positive having to do with a blood transfusion and the team is leaving the Tour," she said.

According to the media, the analysis of the French anti-doping laboratory at Chatenay-Malabry revealed that Vinokourov underwent a blood transfusion shortly before the start of the stage.

If the result of this test will be confirmed by a second one, the 33-year-old Alexandre Vinokourov faces a minimum two year ban from the sport.

"There is the presence of a double population of haematids (blood corpuscles), which implies there has been a blood transfusion with homological (the same type of) blood." Astana’s team said in statement

"Tour organisers have asked Astana Cycling Team to leave the race, which has been accepted spontaneously."

Astana’s decision also rules out Vinokourov team-mates, the German Andreas Klvden and his compatriot Andrey Kashechkin, who were lying fifth and eighth overall.

Before the race, Vinokourov was one of the favourites, but he lost any chance to win Tour De France

The Tour de France finishes on Sunday and the current leader is Michael Rasmussen of Denmark, who was dropped from the Danish national cycling team for missing two doping tests.