"I think I’m progressing enormously every year": One of Astana's gems reflects on a breakthrough season

Nicolas Vinokourov confirmed his steady rise within XDS Astana Team during the 2025 season, contributing to the Kazakh team’s successful fight for World Tour survival while also delivering his best personal results to date.

Speaking to Cyclism Actu at the team’s Media Day in Spain, the young rider made a recap of his second season in the World Tour and shared his main ambitions and goals for the upcoming year.

"Overall, it's been a satisfying season. Of course, there's always room for improvement, but I think I contributed well to the team throughout the year. I also had some good personal performances at the end of the season, including a few breakaways at the Vuelta, which were quite encouraging. I really enjoyed myself, I was able to open the road, especially on the Angliru stage."

The season ended on a particularly positive note with strong performances at the Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi. "At the end of the season, I'm especially happy to have achieved my first top 5 in a ProSeries stage race. It's really satisfying and it shows that I'm progressing, even in stage races: I climb well and I also have a bit of a sprint finish."

Unlike many riders who arrive in the World Tour with immediate success, Vinokurov's development was much more gradual. And his father played a key role in that. "I don't think I was ever a phenomenon in the junior ranks. I started to show promise in my second year of junior, but I never achieved extraordinary results. In fact, my father, along with my brother and me, never put any pressure on us. He always allowed us room to improve, without ever pushing us too hard."

That approach, he feels, has preserved his potential. "He knew that at some point, we'd be able to move up to a development team. I think that not pushing too hard in the junior ranks to reach the World Tour has allowed me to have a lot of room for improvement today. Every year, I feel like I'm progressing enormously. I hope that will continue."

Racing under the management of his father, the legend Alexander Vinokourov, could be seen as an added pressure. However, Nicolas sees it differently. "Some will say it puts pressure on you, others that it does the opposite. Honestly, I don't feel anything in particular. It's definitely strange, but I think sometimes it's a blessing in disguise."

"There's more to life than cycling; the important thing is to find what makes us happy. And he's still involved in cycling, which is important to him. We don't know for how long yet, but he enjoys it. He's very rigorous and meticulous in his work, so I think he'll make a very good sports director."

Looking ahead, Vinokurov has very clear objectives for the next season. "I have several goals. I'd like to perform well both at the beginning of the season and in the second half. There are, of course, the Asian Championships in February, where I'd like to aim for victory. Then there are the Kazakhstan Championships and perhaps the Asian Games at the end of the season. Throughout the year, I also want to perform well in European races, and especially in the Vuelta if I am selected."

Finally, he shared his tentative schedule so far, of course subject to changes. "If all goes well, I will start in Saudi Arabia, then I will follow up with the Asian Championships there. After that, I will do the Drôme Ardèche , Paris-Nice, then the Tour of Turkey, Boucles de la Mayenne, the Tour of Belgium and the National Championships. There will then be a short break in July, before resuming with the Tour of Poland and the Vuelta a España. That's the current plan," he concluded.