Astana Qazakhstan will start the 2025 racing season with renewed vigor. Although left behind by Mark Cavendish, but this Kazakh team but high-spirited.
The reason is that there will be new sponsors in the team made by Alexander Vinokurov. One of the main ones is the entry of a bicycle brand from China, XDS in Astana.
So that next year, the name of the team will change to XdS (Carbon-Tech)-Astana Qazakhstan. “Since 2022 we have been continuously looking for opportunities to be able to take part in WorldTour events,” said Yancong Tan, CEO of XDS.
Since July 2024, Yancong met with Astana at one of the shows in Shanghai, China. According to him, from the moment they talked, they already knew that this Astana was the team he wanted to work with.
XDS will be a very strong sponsor for Astana. “We will make sure the team will have sufficient funding and technical support in this bike,” promised Yancong.
The bike from China, XDS X-Lab will be used Astana Qazakhstan. (Photo By Special)
The bike from China, XDS X-Lab will be used Astana Qazakhstan. (Photo By Special)
In line with Yancong, Vinokourov is also very happy with the presence of XDS. “We are also looking for investors who can make the team go to the next level,” he said.
Astana no longer uses the Italian bike, Wilier Triestina for next year’s racing season. As a replacement, it will use the XDS production bike, The X-Lab.
These Chinese-made bikes will be used by 29 riders currently owned by Astana Qazakhstan.
In these months, VInokourov was negotiating with about twelve more racer names. One of them is Wout Poels who signed a contract while participating in the Dubai Tour.
There are also new drivers such as Mike Teunissen and Darren van Bekkum. Also Diego Ulissi, Sergio Higuita, and Fausto Masnada.
Soon, VInokourov will also get an autograph from Matteo Malucelli. But Astana is still hunting for the best sprinter to replace the retired Mark Cavendish.