Astana Qazaqstan is in a complicated situation with a margin to retain their WorldTour license so large it's probably impossible to save the situation next year. Although managing to get a hold on the automatic wild cards awarded to the best two PRT teams of 2025 would probably be enough to satisfy the team boss Alexander Vinokourov. Caleb Ewan should become the key in doing so.
The mid-season transfer of Alberto Bettiol brings a massive firepower, but that alone may not be enough to get the better of the top PRT teams such as Tudor Pro Cycling and Uno-X Mobility. What is Astana currently missing is a strong and reliable sprinter as that's often the easiest way to rack up UCI points in any kind of races.
Previously this transfer window, Astana made a generous offer to Kaden Groves, who was in doubts about renewing his contract in Alpecin-Deceuninck and staying in the shadow of Jasper Philipsen. But rather surprisingly, the 25-year-old chose to stay. With no other options available on the market, manager Alexander Vinokourov had to look for riders who are potentially unsatisfied at their current workplace.
According to WielerFlits, it seems like he might have found just that in another Australian - Caleb Ewan. Breaking his contract at Lotto Dstny at the end of 2023, the pocket rocket made a glorious return to Jayco AlUla, where he kicked off his professional career ten years ago. However unable to make the ends meet in the biggest competitions, Ewan was overshadowed by Dylan Groenewegen, who had won a Tour stage this year. Meanwhile Ewan only striked three times; once in Oman and twice in Spain (Vuelta a Burgos and Vuelta a Castilla y Leon).
There's only catch - Ewan is bound by a two-year contract and in order to make a switch for Astana, he'll need to find an agreement with his employer. At the end of the day, this could be a quite costy transfer for the new Chinese backers of Astana. But then again, what good is a sprint train without a sprinter to finish off the work? The pressure to find a replacement for Mark Cavendish is high.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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MarkFour07-11-2026 - This is a really interesting idea, which, if well prepared could even be very successful. Very little money needs to be involved for a first season and any success could lead to rapid interest from sponsors.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Hmmm, you seem to have a very convenient black and white view of things. Perhaps you haven’t been around much to discover how complex problems can become over time with people who know how to control, manipulate (or worse) others so gradually or subtly that you arrive at an irresolvable situation before you realise. This is how many inconveniences get introduced to the young, naïve, passionate or “desperate”, knowing they are not armed, protected or strong enough to defend themselves once it’s too late. Why do you think omerta culture is so widespread, why do you think so many people continue to go through so many awful things in life that others can’t understand anyone getting into? Life may be far more jolly for you but you would do well to understand (or reflect more on) the real world to refrain from being so quick to criticise those in a hard spot that may have genuine reason for speaking out.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
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- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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Astana Qazaqstan es bastante activo en el mercado de fichajes. En la búsqueda de puntos UCI. El jefe del equipo, Aleksandr Vinokourov, se concentra ahora en el fichaje de Sergio Higuita y Caleb Ewan , según informan varias fuentes.
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