Lausanne, Feb 28 (IANS): The world cycling federation (UCI) has called for the withdrawal of the racing licence for the Astana team over doping accusations.

The World Tour Licence, run independently by the body's Licence Commission, gives access to the main international races, including the Tour de France, reports Xinhua.

"After careful review of this extensive report, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) strongly believes that it contains compelling grounds to refer the matter to the Licence Commission and request the Astana Pro Team licence be withdrawn," UCI said in a statement Friday.

Astana said it was "compelled to respect" the UCI move while it awaited a final decision.

The team has been under the spotlight since brothers Maxim and Valentin Iglinksy and three other Astana riders tested positive for banned substances in the past year.

The UCI agreed to give Astana a World Tour Licence in December on condition that the team cooperated with a study by Lausanne University's Institute of Sport Sciences (ISSUL) on last year's doping cases.

The Iglinsky brothers of Kazakhstan are members of Astana's World Tour team. They tested positive for EPO in September.