From disgraced wannabes to potential world beaters, the Astana Professional Cycling team’s transition is nearly complete. About all that remains is for the team to sweep the podium next summer at the Tour de France.

Don’t laugh. It could be done.

On Tuesday, defending Tour de France champion Alberto Contador announced a two-year deal with Astana. On Wednesday, 2007 third-place finisher Levi Leipheimer also announced a two-year deal with Astana.

The former Discovery Channel riders followed former Disco director sportif Johan Bruyneel, along with Disco’s old staff, to Astana, which cleaned house after team leader Alexandre Vinokourov and Andrey Kashechkin failed doping tests this past season. Sergio Paulihno,  Benjamin Noval,  Janez Brajkovic and  Tomas Vaitkus are other Disco riders who may join the Kazakh team.

This will be professional cycling’s powerhouse team, and it will have a chance to  attempt the bodacious and go one better than Discovery’s record performance last year at the Tour de France.

With Contador and Leipheimer on the podium in Paris last July, Discovery became the first team to have two podium finishers in the same tour. Now, with Contador and Leipheimer joining Astanta holdover Andreas Kloden, the 2004 TdF runner-up, Astana has the potential to sweep the podium, which would be the biggest podium coup since 10 Speed fave George Hincapie married a podium girl.

–30–