"We are at the lowest point" - Vinokourov stresses that dramatic improvements are necessary at Astana

Astana Qazaqstan Team have been the World Tour team that have scored the least UCI points in 2022. This was not a large surprise in the peloton, however the team has noticeably struggled throughout the season even in the terrains it was expected to perform.

“But the last two years were difficult, we had to change everything all the time. We had a lot of sick people, a lot of falls… It was the worst and most difficult two years in our history," Vinokourov admitted in an interview with Bici.pro. "Something has to change next year, otherwise we have to start asking ourselves questions. We are at the lowest point, now we have to get up again. And rest assured that I will make that clear to the boys in December.”

Vincenzo Nibali has finished a surprise fourth place at the Giro d'Italia, and Miguel Ángel López rode to fourth at the Vuelta a Espana. However, the team has won only 5 races throughout the season, two of them being the Kazakh national championships, and none of them being at World Tour level. The retirement of Nibali, alongside no meaningful signing, sees a negative balance heading into 2023.

“It is very difficult to continue without Nibali. He has won a lot in his career. Maybe not this year, but he rode a great Giro d'Italia and often sat up front in other races," Vinokourov continued. "I think he could have continued for another year, but that's how it goes. We now have to do our best without him.”

As for López, he's abandoned the Giro with a sudden injury. He's ridden a strong Vuelta, but was at risk after being involved in a drug trafficking case - of which he was absolved shortly aftwe however. “We talked a lot with him. Every year he gets stronger. But the years also pass and he has to do something, otherwise young riders will come."

"He has never won a Grand Tour. We have to focus on the next one and make sure he's there from the start of the season so we don't make the same mistakes as last year," Vinokourov assured, confirming López will continue being a headliner and will not leave the team into the coming season.

As for the country's main figure Alexey Lutsenko, he won early in the season and finished 8th at the Tour de France. However it was a season with illnesses hurting his campaign. “Alexey had a lot to do with bad luck. He didn't win in the Tour de France, which I hoped, but in the Vuelta he rode a lot from the front," he continued.

Lutsenko was in the winning attack with Remco Evenepoel but could not keep up with the Belgian, eventually riding into 24th. "At the World Championships he could also have taken silver and that would have been a well-deserved medal. He is 30 years old, it is time for him to win a nice classic or for example Paris-Nice.”

The team does have hopes in it's young and new Kazakh talent Yevegniy Fedorov, the new under-23 World Champion, and unlike most of the team's main figures, a rouleur and classics rider by specialty. “Fedorov has a lot of potential. He has a very big engine," Vinokourov described.

"He also knows how to race, he asks me if he could participate in the gravel World Cup and finished fifth there. I think he can do well in races like Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders in the future," the manager of Astana concluded.