Liberty Seguros withdrew sponsorship on 25 May 2006 after the arrest of Manolo Saiz relating to blood doping.
 A coalition of companies from Kazakhstan took over sponsorship, now called Astana–Würth.
 On 30 June 2006, Astana-Würth withdrew from the 2006 Tour de France after five riders were implicated in the Operación Puerto doping case, leaving Vinokourov, one of the favorites, with three teammates, below the required six riders.
Vinokourov was never accused or implicated.

In the Vuelta a España, the team was known simply as Astana after Würth departed sponsorship.
After losing time in the first mountains, Vinokourov went into attack.
He lost the 7th stage to Alejandro Valverde, took revenge by winning the 8th and 9th stages and climbed to 5th place at the end of the first week.
After a good time trial, and aggressive climbing on stages 17 & 18 (stage 18 was won by Kashechkin), Vinokourov took first place and claimed the gold jersey from Valverde.
After a strong time trial, his 3rd stage victory, Vinokourov won the Vuelta.

Following his one and only Grand Tour victory at the Vuelta, Vinokourov rode to a podium finish at the World Championships TT in Salzburg, where he took third behind winner Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, and the American runner-up, David Zabriskie – both of Team CSC.
Vino dropped his chain in the middle of the 15 percent climb, but in his typical laconic manner brushed-off the mishap, explaining:
I had a hard time putting it back on, but the time I lost only counted for second or third place, so it wasn't that important.
Now, I'll concentrate on the road race, for which I'm really motivated.

Vinokourov started the 2007 Tour de France as a definite "Yellow jersey favourite," with a new team backed by the same Kazakh sponsors who had taken over Liberty Seguros in 2006 – Astana.
The Tour started well when he placed 7th in the London prologue, losing only 30 seconds to time-trial specialist Fabian Cancellara.
He was ranked inside the top-10 through the second stage, and he remained in contention for the overall until the fifth stage, when he experienced a misfortune.
As the peloton accelerated before the final climb, Vinokourov fell heavily at high speed and tumbled into a ditch with 25k to go.
He suffered severe cuts and abrasions to both knees and elbows, and serious bruising to his right buttock.
The wounded Kazakh could be seen standing on the left side of the road, gesticulating while a frantic teammate struggled to fix his leader's damaged bike.

The main field did not slow to allow Vinokourov to reintegrate with the bunch, but instead raced on towards the finish in Autun.
He remounted and began to chase, calling back seven of his eight teammates to help his bid to regain the leaders.
The Astana train pursued the favorites, until Vinokourov himself surged ahead of his companions and lead the last wave of the chase.
When he crossed the line, he finished 1–20 behind his main rivals, all of whom arrived together.

After the dramatic crash and the serious injuries, he lost time in the Alps and was dismissed from the list of GC contenders.

But despite his injuries, and after seemingly being written off by the press and his rivals, Vinokourov rallied and won the first individual time trial by 1:14 from Cadel Evans.
He explained:
I am happy with my performance, I am finding my legs again.
Now I want to attack in the Pyrénées.
I want to thank everyone in and around the team that encouraged me to get through the Alps.

He also won stage 15, a mountain stage finishing in Loudenvielle.
Liberty Seguros withdrew sponsorship on 25 May 2006 after the arrest of Manolo Saiz relating to blood doping.  A coalition of companies from Kazakhstan took over sponsorship, now called Astana–Würth.  On 30 June 2006, Astana-Würth withdrew from the 2006 Tour de France after five riders were implicated in the Operación Puerto doping case, leaving Vinokourov, one of the favorites, with three teammates, below the required six riders. Vinokourov was never accused or implicated.
In the Vuelta a España, the team was known simply as Astana after Würth departed sponsorship. After losing time in the first mountains, Vinokourov went into attack. He lost the 7th stage to Alejandro Valverde, took revenge by winning the 8th and 9th stages and climbed to 5th place at the end of the first week. After a good time trial, and aggressive climbing on stages 17 & 18 (stage 18 was won by Kashechkin), Vinokourov took first place and claimed the gold jersey from Valverde. After a strong time trial, his 3rd stage victory, Vinokourov won the Vuelta.
Following his one and only Grand Tour victory at the Vuelta, Vinokourov rode to a podium finish at the World Championships TT in Salzburg, where he took third behind winner Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, and the American runner-up, David Zabriskie – both of Team CSC. Vino dropped his chain in the middle of the 15 percent climb, but in his typical laconic manner brushed-off the mishap, explaining:
I had a hard time putting it back on, but the time I lost only counted for second or third place, so it wasn't that important. Now, I'll concentrate on the road race, for which I'm really motivated.
Vinokourov started the 2007 Tour de France as a definite "Yellow jersey favourite," with a new team backed by the same Kazakh sponsors who had taken over Liberty Seguros in 2006 – Astana. The Tour started well when he placed 7th in the London prologue, losing only 30 seconds to time-trial specialist Fabian Cancellara. He was ranked inside the top-10 through the second stage, and he remained in contention for the overall until the fifth stage, when he experienced a misfortune. As the peloton accelerated before the final climb, Vinokourov fell heavily at high speed and tumbled into a ditch with 25k to go. He suffered severe cuts and abrasions to both knees and elbows, and serious bruising to his right buttock. The wounded Kazakh could be seen standing on the left side of the road, gesticulating while a frantic teammate struggled to fix his leader's damaged bike.
The main field did not slow to allow Vinokourov to reintegrate with the bunch, but instead raced on towards the finish in Autun. He remounted and began to chase, calling back seven of his eight teammates to help his bid to regain the leaders. The Astana train pursued the favorites, until Vinokourov himself surged ahead of his companions and lead the last wave of the chase. When he crossed the line, he finished 1–20 behind his main rivals, all of whom arrived together.
After the dramatic crash and the serious injuries, he lost time in the Alps and was dismissed from the list of GC contenders.
But despite his injuries, and after seemingly being written off by the press and his rivals, Vinokourov rallied and won the first individual time trial by 1:14 from Cadel Evans. He explained:
I am happy with my performance, I am finding my legs again. Now I want to attack in the Pyrénées. I want to thank everyone in and around the team that encouraged me to get through the Alps.
He also won stage 15, a mountain stage finishing in Loudenvielle.
Alexander Vinokourov