With Mark Cavendish and Michael Morkov set to retire at the end of the season, it would be a shame to abandon the big sprint train project in Astana after a 2024. However without a clear high-profile finisher, the team managers had to scoop around the market to find the right replacement for the Manx misile.
And it seems like they have been more than successful in their search as multiple reports, including Gazzetta dello Sport confirm that a deal with Kaden Groves is very close to taking its final shape. The Australian wasn't able to find the support he wished for at Alpecin-Deceuninck where the obvious no. 1 remains Jasper Philipsen.
But that is not to say that Groves has been having a bad year at Alpecin. Despite a knee injury hampering most of his spring, the 25-year-old sprinter returned at Giro d'Italia in a great shape, finishing second twice in a stage, while he was third on two occasions too. Ultimately this was enough to put him in a runner-up position for the Maglia Ciclamino.
According to a report in L'Equipe in June, a large reshuffle is around the corner at Astana Qazaqstan. More than half of Alexander Vinkourov's team is reportedly out of contract and many leaders including the face of the team in recent years Alexey Lutsenko reported to be on his way out to Israel - Premier Tech.
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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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- Mathieu and Wout!!! You must start in CX this winter! (hope you reading comments here...) ;-)averagecyclist12-11-2026
- Who made you site boss?Lozza12-11-2026
- This shows so well you’ve never ventured out to a cycling event and checked out spectators.Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
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- That’s a first point, everyone can have an off year or just stagnate before a new upward cycle. What would have been more interesting is including Skjelmose’s performance into the discussion, things have also been expected from him after several performances in the past but he hasn’t really progressed either, his TdF was basically what you would have expected but he’s 26 and been kind of stuck at this level for at least 2-3 years. Maybe he’s a late developer or maybe he needs something to change but as manager I’d be just as demanding and worried about both. Perhaps the recruitment concept was to have enough talent so at least one every year would be in shape and they’ve just been unlucky. Don’t want to rub it in but you could even say Mads lost a notch, so is it the riders or is it more to do with the team?Jumpyjohn12-11-2026
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Info @Gazzetta_it - As already reported by @Cyclingnewsfeed earlier, also our sources confirmed that @kaden_groves - now with @AlpecinDCK - is very likely to be an @AstanaQazTeam rider from 2025 @cycling_podcast
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