Longstanding XDS Astana staff supervisor Alexandr Vinokourov has issued a stark caution that the squad will want to stay within the WorldTour for its new four-year cycle in 2026 to be able to proceed.
In a significant interview with L’Équipe, Vinokourov stated that new Chinese language sponsor XDS sought after to head on backing the squad within the years yet to come.
However he warned that its survival relied on staying within the WorldTour – one thing that as present standings cross stays very a lot within the steadiness, with XDS Astana in twenty first position within the UCI ratings and neatly adrift of the final of the highest 18 puts that ensure computerized admission to biking’s most sensible desk.
Vinokourov remained upbeat in regards to the staff’s possibilities of reviving their fortunes, pointing to new signings like Wout Poels and Sergio Higuita to check out and garner extra issues. Then again, his plans to carry each Aleksandr Vlasov (Purple Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Juan Ayuso (UAE Crew Emirates) into the staff didn’t figure out.
“We’re realistic, there are two or three teams right now who have the best riders in the peloton, so we have to adapt,” Vinokourov advised L’Équipe.
“I tried to convince Mauro Gianetti [UAE Team Emirates-XRG team principal] to let me buy out Juan Ayuso, I don’t think that would have affected UAE overly because they have enough star riders to win everywhere.
“We might have favored to have had him, however with out his control’s settlement, that wasn’t imaginable. We have been additionally at the path of Vlasov to get him to come back again to us, and we may have executed it if Evenepoel had signed with Purple Bull; they would have handed him on so Remco may have his spot.”
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When it came to describing Astana’s previous season, the former Olympic Champion did not pull any punches, saying that the one key success had been Mark Cavendish’s record-breaking 35th Tour de France win. However, beyond that, he qualified it directly as “obviously a shit season, in a different way we do not need 5,000 UCI issues [to regain a guaranteed WorldTour position for 2026 – Ed.] to check out and get again.”
Vinokourov denied the rumours that the XDS Astana annual team budget now stood at over €50 million, saying it was currently less than 30 million. However, it had still permitted him to sign top-ranking riders including Higuita, Poels, Fausto Masnada, Clément Champoussin, and Diego Ulissi.
He also revealed that the team was using a data analyst to calculate which races were best for them to gain UCI points. At the Tour Down Under the team scored 30, though they had more luck at the GP Castellón and Clàssica Valenciana, racking up 315 points via two podiums and various minor places at the pair of Spanish races.
“We wouldn’t have a rider to win an general classification in a three-week race however we will intention to strike some vital blows,” Vinokourov stated.
“We have now labored so much at the query of probably the most advisable lessons for us because of a instrument program made via our information analyst which tells us to visit such and one of these race relying at the intensity of the sphere and the likelihood of having kind of issues.”
He cited the Volta ao Algarve as a case in point where the presence of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and UAE would reduce their chances of success.
Asked if the backing of the Chinese sponsors into 2026 hinged on their ongoing presence in the WorldTour, rather than financial support, Vinokourov pointed at the bigger picture, about which he remained resolutely upbeat.
“We wouldn’t have a call, we need to stay within the WorldTour to proceed to continue to exist,” he said. “I am satisfied we will be capable to opposite the fad and in finding our position among the most productive.
“It was very good luck to cross paths with XDS. They’re celebrating their 30th anniversary and this is the team’s 20th, so it’s a good marriage.”
