Kazakh rider Andrej Kashechkin has been fired by Astana after a "B" sample tested positive for a banned blood transfusion.
"Andrej Kashechkin from now on is dismissed with immediate effect," the team said in a statement Friday.
Kashechkin first tested positive during an unannounced control on Aug. 1 in Belek, Turkey. He was suspended from the team a week later pending analysis of his backup sample.
Kashechkin finished third in this year's Dauphine Libere race. He finished fourth in the 13th stage of the Tour de France.
Astana fires Kashechkin after 'B' sample tests positive for blood transfusion
