Astana Qazaqstan Team were the lowest-scoring World Tour squad in 2023. Mark Cavendish took it's single World Tour win at the Giro d'Italia, but it was a team that struggled to get many results.
UCI ranking 2023: 7047 (20th)
Victories (World Tour): 16 (1)
Top riders in UCI rankings: Alexey Lutsenko (46th)
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Rating - 2.44
Rúben Silva (CyclingUpToDate): 3. It was saved. Astana is a difficult one to talk about because the expectations were low and they were the lowest-scoring team in the UCI rankings this year at World Tour level - despite scoring huge points at continental championships. The season started off horribly, but then from April onwards it caught some traction. Although none at World Tour level, Alexey Lutsenko did win the Giro di Sicilia, Tour of Turkey, Circuito de Getxo and Memorial Marco Pantani besides the nationals. He found good form but above all the team was smart and his success is due to good calendar choice. Mark Cavendish was the headliner, he won a stage at the Giro and that was a very popular one. I reckon he had the chance - although slim - to win at the Tour but in the results sheet his Giro win is the only significant result from the season. Simone Velasco and Christian Scaroni were positive surprises from the season and also scored some nice points, these are the positive aspects from a season that leaves the team in a difficult mission to continue at World Tour level.
Kieran Wood (CyclingUpToDate): 3. Not a year packed full of highlights, Astana did have their moments, such as Mark Cavendish’s win on the final stage of the Giro d’Italia and Alexey Lutsenko’s performance at the Tour of Turkey where he won stage 3 atop the truly brutal Badabag climb before securing overall victory. Ultimately though, it was a disappointing year for the team with plenty to improve upon next season.
Ondřej Zhasil (CyclingUpToDate): 2. Astana claims that they had a good year, achieving a grand slam at the Asian events, but the fact is, that they end the season with 2000 points gap to keep the WT license in 2026. Highlight of their season had been the signing of Mark Cavendish who secured the team's only big international victory at the Giro d'Italia.
Juan Larra (CiclismoAlDia): 1. Despite Mark Cavendish's partial victory in the Giro d'Italia, Astana's season deserves a resounding failure. The sporting planning of the season cannot be based on a 38 year old cyclist. His withdrawal from the Tour de France left them KO'd for the rest of the year. The drop in performance of Alexey Lutsenko, the team's other great asset, has also hurt them a lot in a 2023 to forget.
Jorge Borreguero (CiclismoAlDia): 2.5. Astana's bad year can be summed up in Mark Cavendish's crash in the Tour de France that deprived him of competing in the remainder of the race and losing the opportunity to achieve the record of stage victories. Precisely, Cavendish himself has, in the final stage of the Giro d'Italia, the most outstanding victory for a team that should aspire to much more in the future.
Victor Gonzalez (CiclismoAlDia): 3. Some good results from Alexey Lutsenko, also from Mark Cavendish, and a top 5 in Montreal for Simone Velasco but little else. A very poor season for Astana.
Filipe Pereira (CiclismoAtual): 3. Astana Qazaqstan Team had 1 WT level win trough Cavendish's sprint at the Giro's final stage. Other than that, Alexey Lutsenko did a pretty good season, racking up some minor but important wins for a team that is clinging on to a WorldTour spot. A definitely uninspired season from Alexandr Vinokourov's men, but one with a good final strectch, with a gamble on smaller Asian races (and also the Tour of Türkiye) to get some points for a team that has a hard mission ahead of the 2026 new cycle.
Carlos Silva (CiclismoAtual): 2. One year on the road with only one victory in a GT by the Manxman. Poor. The future is dark if they don't change strategies.
Ivan Silva (CiclismoAtual): 2.5. Highlight of the season was Cavendish's stage win at Giro D'Italia finish in Rome (with some help from Geraint Thomas in the mix) and had some top 5 results in Montreal and Amstel Gold Race aswell as a Top 10 in Tour de Suisse.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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