[1] In 2003 he won his first race, when he finished just in front of Lennie Kristensen in the overall rankings of the Tour Down Under.

On 26 June 2009 he tested positive on Recombinant Erythropoietin (EPO), for which he was suspended by the UCI on 31 July 2009.

[2] Astarloza denied using EPO, saying that it was "sporting suicide" to use illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

Astarloza continually claimed his innocence, and Euskaltel-Euskadi stated that they would rehire him once the ban ended.

[6] On 1 October 2013 Astarloza announced that he would retire from professional cycling after the 2013 Tour of Beijing.