BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Former Astana team rider Andrej Kashechkin is taking cycling authorities to court over a failed drug test, a case that could have major implications in all sports in the fight against doping.

The Kazakh is suing cycling's world governing body in Belgium, challenging several key provisions of the World Anti-Doping Agency's code and contesting the unlimited right of sports federations to test riders out of competition.

Kashechkin and his lawyers contend the tests are illegally stacked against athletes and that federations have no right to impose heavy sanctions that damage a competitor's career.

"This is not a battle for or against doping because we all are against doping," Kashechkin's lawyer, Christian Botteman, said Friday. "It a battle against the system which does not respect the fundamental rights of individuals."

The case opens Tuesday in Liege and comes a week before a WADA conference in Spain that will approve new rules on drug-testing and sanctions.

Kashechkin finished third in this year's Dauphine Libere race. He was fourth in the 13th stage of the Tour de France. The Astana team left the Tour after Alexandre Vinokourov, a race favorite, tested positive for a blood transfusion following his victory in a time trial.

Kashechkin was fired by the Swiss-based Astana team in August after his "B" sample confirmed a positive test for a banned blood transfusion. He first tested positive during an unannounced control Aug. 1 in Belek, Turkey. Kashechkin objects to the unannounced test, which came at night while he was on vacation with his family.

"It was an abnormal situation," Botteman said. "Yet, if he refused it, he would have been considered guilty."

The association of professional cycling teams (IPCT) has joined the governing body as a voluntary party in the case.

"If Kashechkin wins on the principle that only public authorities can take care of doping, then we can close shop," IPCT lawyer Jean-Louis Dupont said.

Botteman will also raise the point of the difficulties riders face when they seek to carry out private tests to compare them with those conducted by their sports federation.

The Liege court is expected to rule on a provisional injunction Tuesday. That could allow Kashechkin to resume racing until a judge makes a full ruling on the case, a procedure that could be appealed. In all, the case could drag on for years.