"People wait to see what they will do, even though doing better is impossible": The Vinokourov brothers reflect on racing in their father’s shadow at Astana

In the long tradition of cycling families, the Vinokourov name inevitably stands out. Alexander Vinokourov, a former peloton icon, is now the long-serving general manager of XDS Astana Team. Within that same structure, his two sons, Alexandre and Nicolas Vinokurov, have been building their own paths. One of them is still racing (Nicolas), while Alexandre retired at the end of 2025 and is now working from the team car.

For Nicolas Vinokurov, living and racing under his father’s leadership feels almost natural. “Honestly, I don’t really feel much,” he explained in an interview to Cyclism Actu.

“Since I was 8, 9, 10 years old, I’ve always been around the team. I’ve seen how things work: the races, the training camps. In the end, whether it’s my father or not, the whole team feels like a family. I really feel at home and very comfortable, and that allows me to progress in a high-quality environment.”

His brother Alexandr Vinokurov, on the other hand, acknowledges that carrying such a famous name is never easy. “When you’re a rider, it inevitably creates more stress, there’s always that pressure,” he admitted.

“I think it’s the same for all sons of great champions: people wait to see what they will do, even though doing better is impossible. Even reaching half of what they achieved is already incredible. Over time, you get used to it and you try to forget all that.”

Nicolas Vinokourov backed up his progress in 2025 with several notable breakaways at the Vuelta a España and his first career top-five overall finish in a ProSeries stage race, specifically at the Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia, in which he finished fourth in the overall GC.

His older brother, Alexandr Vinokurov Jr., has already moved into a different role. Forced to end his racing career at just 23 after a serious crash in Greece, he has transitioned into life as a sports director.

Beyond the sporting lineage, XDS Astana, as every other squad, has also been evolving behind the scenes. Morgan Saussine, the team’s Data Scientist, offered insight into a role still rare in professional cycling but that will surely become increasingly important in the next years.

“I think we are still only at the very beginning,” Saussine said. “Data has been present in cycling for a long time, but the maturity of data departments remains low, especially because they are often limited to just one person. If you compare this to other sectors like finance, there is far greater role specialisation.”

Looking ahead, he expects big changes. “These roles should evolve and become more structured: data engineers, data analysts, data scientists, each with more focused missions. The big teams are already investing heavily in this area, either internally or through external partners. Personally, I really enjoy this very transversal, almost ‘full-stack’ role that covers the entire data chain. But it’s clear that this profession will continue to evolve and become even more professionalised in the years to come.”