Alexey Lutsenko set to lead Astana Qazaqstan at the Giro d’Italia - Max Kanter leads charge for sprints

After taking a spectacular stage win on the final stage of the 2023 Giro d’Italia with Mark Cavendish, Astana Qazaqstan will be without the Manxman for this year’s race, but they will still be bringing a strong lineup, which will be led by Alexey Lutsenko.

The Kazakh rider has been very successful in Italy throughout his career, with overall victories at the Giro d’Abruzzo and the Giro di Sicilia in the last two seasons, as well as wins at several smaller Italian one-day races throughout his career.

However, he has only raced the Giro d’Italia once in his career in 2018, where he did not get close to winning a stage and finished 87th overall. With victories at the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España already on his palmarès, Lutsenko will be hoping to complete the set with a stage win at this year’s edition of the Corsa Rosa.

Astana Qazaqstan will also be aiming for some strong results in the sprint stages with Max Kanter, who recently took a stage win at the Tour of Turkey, with Davide Ballerini set to be riding in support of him.

Italian national champion Simone Velasco is another rider on the startlist for the team, as he targets a stage win in Il Tricolore. Meanwhile, their new signing Lorenzo Fortunato could also be in contention for a victory to add to his famous win atop the Monte Zoncolan at the 2021 Giro d’Italia.

Christian Scaroni, Vadim Pronskiy and African continental champion Henok Mulubrhan will be riding in support of their teammates, with some possible opportunities for them to get into a few of the breakaways on certain stages throughout the race.

Astana Qazaqstan for Giro d’Italia 2024

Alexey Lutsenko
Max Kanter
Davide Ballerini
Simone Velasco
Lorenzo Fortunato
Christian Scaroni
Vadim Pronskiy
Henok Mulubrhan