Astana Qazaqstan looks into options to buy Caleb Ewan out of his contract at Jayco AlUla

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.