"Become a super team, like UAE, Red Bull and others" - Vinokourov on Astana's goals and why Mark Cavendish didn't make it to the team management

Astana Qazaqstan Team are having a new Chinese sponsor into 2025 that has significantly boosted the team's finances and allowed for several important signings. The team is looking to score enough points this season to retain it's World Tour license and become a super team in the coming years.

Mark Cavendish is interested in being part of a pro team in a management role and the Kazakh team in which he retired was the prime option. However, in conversation with Cyclingnews, team manager Alexandr Vinokourov said that there wasn't space for this to happen already. "We have a good relationship with Mark, he was very important to us. But sometimes it's not easy to find an exact role for someone in the team and that was the case with Mark".

"Mark didn't want to just be an ambassador for the team, Mark wanted to be part of the decision-making structure but that wasn't possible yet. We still have a good relationship and we'll see what happens later. Maybe in the future."

The team focused many of it's resources over the past two seasons in aiding the Manxman to win his 35th Tour de France win, and were successful in this mission. However in terms of UCI points, the team is by far the lowest scorer and at this point in time, it is extremely unlikely that it will be able to save itself even if it has a strong season. "It's just a pity that Mark's 35th Tour victory wasn't worth 5000 UCI ranking points. Our goal is to keep our World Tour license in 2025 and then we can build more and more. Maybe we can then sign a Grand Tour rider to target the GC."

Most likely, with a good year the team will descent to ProTeam level but possibly have the Grand Tour wildcards it desires, which would mean there is little difference in relation to it's current situation. However XDS is investing in the team to become another top structure in a matter of years.

"The sponsors want to develop and become a super team, like UAE, Red Bull and others," he says. "It's not easy and doesn't come quickly. It'll be step by step. The team has changed massively, we've been working hard since last May. It's not easy but most of it is done and the team is coming together. XDS has invested massively, we've made changes and now it's up to us."