United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan, late on Monday, 29 November.
Astana, on the other hand, was perfectly placed in the very centre of the country.
Armstrong added that his Astana team were looking to fellow American Levi Leipheimer for overall victory.
The telecoms system in Astana is now better than any other in Central Asia.
She said the support of her federation, and her friends in Astana, were essential.
One of the more immutable disadvantages of Astana is that it is a long way from anywhere.
Stunted by wind, frozen earth and long winters, the forest has grown considerably slower than Astana itself.
The Secretary-General then attended a lunch hosted by the President before leaving Astana in the afternoon for Vienna, Austria.
The decision to make Astana the capital was taken in July 1994, and the move began three years later.
Russia's deputy prime minister, Ilya Klebanov, flew to the Kazakh capital, Astana (formerly known as Akmola), on July 14th.
The locusts have swamped Astana, the Kazakh capital, making the roads slippery with their crushed bodies and invading houses and shops.
The last thing Astana and Tashkent want to see is Ashgabat undercutting the price of natural gas they are negotiating with China.
Astana has withdrawn from the Tour after Vinokourov tested positive for doping.
But sometimes, he says, the visits oddly coincided with calls from authorities in Astana who demanded increased amounts of power without paying more for it.
Alberto Contador joined the Astana team, which was then barred from this year's race because of its doping misbehaviour at last year's Tour.
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Contador, who was riding for the Astana team, won the world's most prestigious race for the third time on 25 July in 2010.
The Astana star won the testing stage in 31 minutes 59 seconds with Team Katusha's Toni Colom in second place, 22 seconds adrift.
Kazakhstan has a training center in Astana, the country's capital, where Shvedova trained for the French Open on new indoor red clay courts.
Clinton arrived Tuesday night at the Eurasian University in Astana and was greeted by two young girls in traditional Kazakh dress who presented her with flowers.
Even as Team Astana put Contador and Armstrong on the podium and won the overall team victory, another team managed to dazzle fans around the world.
The Regional Thematic training in Astana was based on lectures and presentations of experts, discussions, presentations of participants, work in groups, visits to the Astana museums.
His Astana teammate Lance Armstrong is currently recovering from a broken collarbone before heading to the Giro d'Italia which Contador will skip despite being defending champion.
Interfax-Kazakhstan said that one of Col Stambekov's deputies and several regional border service commanders were also on the flight, from the Kazakh capital, Astana, to Shymkent.
Astana team chief Johan Bruyneel, who guided Armstrong to all his seven previous Tour wins, insists he is happy to have two cycling superstars in his stable.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic became the first team through to the semifinals of the men's Davis Cup competition on Sunday, completing a 3-1 win over Kazakhstan in Astana.
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After a doping scandal prevented his former team, Liberty Seguros, from competing last year, Alexander Vinokourov, the leader of the Switzerland-based team, Astana, came back with a vengeance.
The race starts with a short team time trial in Venice on Saturday, with Stapleton's Team Columbia and the Garmin, Astana and Saxo Bank squads expected to feature.
In January the chief executives of Exxon, Shell, France's Total and Eni of Italy flew to Astana, the new northern capital decreed in 1997 and built almost from scratch.
Austra fought back against Kazakhstan in Astana on Saturday with Julian Knowle and Alexander Peya winning their doubles match against Andrey Golubev and Yuriy Schukin in straight sets 7-6 6-3 7-6.
"To me, it's obvious that Astana should have one leader and to me, that leader is Contador, " Riis -- whose CSC team won the race last year with Carlos Sastre -- told reporters.
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