The future of Kazakhstan's cycling didn't look very bright for a long time. Despite the best efforts to find a successor to the country's long-time flag-bearer Alexey Lutsenko, there wasn't much to be optimistic about until the very recent revelation of Ilkhan Dostiyev.
Dostiyev had previously shown potential at smaller races mainly in Greece, Turkiye and in Asian races. He started to make a name for himself early in the 2023 with podium finish in a stage of the (among continental teams) very popular season opener Visit South Aegean Islands Tour (2.2). Later Dostiyev took his first UCI victory at the mountain stage of Tour of Bostonliq II (1.2) and continued to add couple top-10 finishes to his palmares.
This was enough to put him among the candidates for a future WorldTour promotion with Astana. For his last year among promises, Dostiyev made a move from the Continental Vino SKO Team to Astana Development Team. There he received the ultimate opportunity to prove himself worthy of a spot at the WorldTour squad.
And to the surprise of many, the 22-year-old Kazakh did just that. Straight off the bat, he shocked with a 2nd overall at Tour of Rwanda (2.1) against riders such as Pierre Latour. His start on the European scene was a bit more steady, but two podium finishes including a stage win at the Orlen GP (2.NC) confirmed his potential.
Yet the best of Dostiyev was yet to come at one of the biggest U23 events of the year - Giro della Valle d'Aosta - where many of the top climbing prospects gather every year. The race was won by Jarno Widar, while Pablo Torres took the final stage. But the biggest surprise was Ilkhan Dostiyev who took the first stage, finished twice in two more stages and eventually concluded the race as runner-up also in the GC.
One month later, Dostiyev also won the Turul Romaniei (2.2) after his teammate, and GC leader at the time, Rudolf Remkhi abandoned the race. Dostiyev made one more appearance at the Tour of Hainan (2.Pro) alongside the WorldTour team and that's it.
Today, the news quickly spread that the 22-year-old athlete was added on the list of provisionally suspended cyclists by UCI. The Kazakh tested positive for use of prohibited substance CERA (similar to EPO) during an off-competition contol on the July 30.
CERA has been around for about two decades and one of its most famous "users" was Riccardo Ricco, second man of the 2008 Giro d'Italia who received a life-time ban following a series of repeated doping violations in 2011.
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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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- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
- My point is this - Tadej, Remco, Seixas are all the outliers. Many riders don’t hit their peak until 28. It’s way too early to write him off. And the pogi slo guy that hates him - he’s also immature. Ayuso needs time.mij13-11-2026
- Then you need to use ur eyes or head if you have cause del toro already dropped jonas two times and beat him in tdf stages already this year.. Del toro climbed(dauphine) better numbers than jonas did all year too. So ur feelings and wishful thinking doesnt amtter del toro himself has already surpassed jonas infact just facts. Its also very evident for anyone objective that Jonas is declining alot, its just the truth and super obvious.miguel13-11-2026
- None of those victories stand, so there's that,wrsty13-11-2026
- No surprise there; it is British Sycling, yes, with an S
Rafionain-Glas12-11-2026 - I like Del Toro but he's not on the level of Jonas, by a large margin.awp12-11-2026
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🇰🇿 Ilkhan Dostiyev (@AstanaQazDev) suspended for doping (CERA). He was 2nd in @GiroVdA in july.
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