"We beat big teams with budgets twice as big as ours" - Vinokourov on Astana's 'super-season'
Cycling
XDS Astana Team entered the 2025 season with a major UCI point deficit and an almost certain chance of meeting relegation at the end of the year. It now feels distant, but team manager Alexandr Vinokourov has brought up the team's achievement, closing the gap and overtaking several teams in its way to secure the license for three more years at the top of the sport.
"The 2025 season was really special for us, as it marked the 20th anniversary of the Astana project, which was founded in 2006," Vinokourov said in an interview with bicipro. "We started the year as outsiders: we were out of the WorldTour license zone. To secure a place in the top division for the next three years, we had to perform something like a miracle and, honestly, not many believed we would make it."
But the team, with careful schedule planning for its whole team and riders individually, put on a stellar run to gather tons of UCI points. Several World Tour teams, even those in difficulty, did not, and ultimately were overtaken. Even with the disappearance of Intermarché - Wanty for example, Cofidis still found itself getting relegated after three ProTeams had more points than it, and Uno-X Mobility took the last World Tour position by only a few hundred points.
Astana reached the end of the year relaxed as in the first half they did what they had to do. "We set ourselves the goals, we calculated the races. The goal was, of course, to earn points. Sometimes even more than chasing victories. We knew we needed points, and we fought for every single point. Probably above all, Christian Scaroni, who surprised us and made a big leap forward. He began to believe in himself".
Astana stronger than teams with double the budget
At the end of the year the team finished well within the red line and secured its World Tour license, finishing the season as the fourth top scoring team and having also the fifth best record in terms of pure wins. "Of course, we want victories. This year, despite everything, we have obtained 32. I think it's a very respectable result, especially compared to past years."
Astana simply got the job done and ended the year with - when taking into consideration these terms - better outcomes than teams such as Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and INEOS Grenadiers. In 2026 we could see similar if the team decides to continue having such carefully planned schedules. "We beat big teams with budgets twice as big as ours. We have shown that we can do it. And now we know what we can do. I am proud of all of them."
Diego Ulissi and Astana leading the Giro d'Italia. @Sirotti
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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