Astana Qazaqstan have missed the UCI registration deadline
for the upcoming 2025 season. Each year the International Cycling Union releases a statement listing the professional
teams that have submitted their registration applications for the following
season. However, when the list was published on Friday evening, Astana
Qazaqstan was notably absent.
Speaking about the situation, Alexandre Vinokourov, the
general manager of Astana Qazaqstan and a former four-time Tour de France stage
winner and 2006 Vuelta a España champion, acknowledged the reason behind their
absence.
"A question arose regarding the wording of the bank
guarantee document," admitted Vinokourov to
Cyclism'Actu. He further
explained, "Indeed, during the process of submitting documents for
confirmation of our WorldTour license, a question arose regarding the wording
of the bank guarantee document, and clarifications were requested, which the
team provided."
Despite this hiccup, Vinokourov remains confident that the
situation is under control. "Unfortunately, additional coordination
between banks took some time, which is why our team was not included in the
list published today by the UCI,” he told CyclingNews. In any case, the process
of registration and license confirmation with the UCI is proceeding in
accordance with the requirements and our team is not experiencing any
difficulties."
Although Astana Qazaqstan are temporarily missing from the
UCI’s World Tour list, the team has assured fans that this is a minor issue,
and they are working to resolve it swiftly.