"We’ve got a Serie A and a Serie B in WorldTour" - Astana DS knows the hunt for points won't end with a new season
Cycling
XDS Astana Team had a massive task ahead of them at the start of this season - to bridge approximately 5.000-point gap in the three-year UCI ranking and save themselves in the WorldTour category for the 2026-2028 cycle. But the Kazakh team backed by Chinese company XDS did unthinkable and even leapfrogged all the way to 16th spot in the ranking. Since June, their rapid progression through the rankings slowed down, but Astana has nevertheless proven that the team is far from done.
"We knew it would be difficult, but it was twist or stick," sports director Alexandr Shefer told Domestique. "We had to do something."
And so, Astana, boosted by financial support from their new Chinese co-sponsor XDS, they entered the transfer market in search of a miracle. And through several tactical signings, they achieved nothing short of the miracle the sought after. "We strengthened the team compared to previous years with points in mind," Shefer explained.
Part of their success came thanks to difficult tactical decisions such as sending top leaders to smaller races instead of a suiting high-profile schedule. But the payout has been massive. One example for all would be the 24-year-old Ecuadorian climber Harold Martín López who has podiumed four stage races at the 2.1 and 2.Pro level, scoring 600 UCI points pretty "easily" without having to compete against the likes of Tadej Pogacar.
"Many times, we sent our strongest riders to smaller races rather than to WorldTour races. We’ve had strong teams at races like Turkey, Hainan and so on, because we know there are a lot of points of offer there. And with the team we have right now and the level generally, we can maybe be more confident of a big result there than in a WorldTour race."
Lorenzo Fortunato and Christian Scaroni together cross the line of Giro d'Italia stage 16
It's been a completely new Astana. Over the last decade the Kazakh team always belonged to the top tier of cycling, winning multiple Grand Tours and Monuments thanks to the likes of Vincenzo Nibali, Fabio Aru and Jakob Fuglsang. But in 2025, those ambitions were unrealistic.
"It was different to what we did in previous years because we had never raced in search of points before. Unfortunately, we got to a point where, in order to save ourselves, we needed to start getting placings from two or three riders rather than racing to win. It’s not ideal, but in this moment our aim is to save ourselves."
"All the riders are well aware that it would be easier to score points in smaller races than in the WorldTour," Shefer said. "In WorldTour races these days, especially the bigger races, it’s very hard because it’s a very high level. And when certain big riders are in the field, you already know you’re racing for fifth place at best, and that’s if everything goes well. Whereas in the smaller races, you can get better results."
The team strength also became apparent at Grand Tours, where Astana had to face the world's best and, at times, simply didn't have the level to compete. At Giro, their attacking racing style was rewarded with a stage victory of Christian Scaroni and Mountain classification won by Lorenzo Fortuntato, but Tour de France didn't go as well:
"At the Tour, we brought a solid team with some good riders, but a lot of them didn’t have great condition, and the general level was really high," Shefer exaplained. "We hoped for a bit more, but if you’re not at 100% there, it’s very difficult to come away with a result."
"But now we’ll see what the rest of the season brings and if we can collect more points. Because we’re not really talking about wins anymore, now it’s all about points. We’re only thinking about points, and the whole team is united behind that idea. We sit down every week and tally how many points we’ve scored, and we also look at our rivals."
Astana is now virtually safely in WorldTour, but there's no time to rest. In 2026, the UCI point battle will start anew with another three-year cycle and Astana will need to keep the momentum going to not end up in the same situation as at the end of 2024.
"For the smaller teams, it will be like this even next year," Shefer said. "If you don’t have one of the biggest riders and if you’re not certain that you won’t have worries about relegation, then you’re going to have to keep this philosophy to get points to save yourself."
"In the WorldTour these days, we’ve got a Serie A and a Serie B. You have the top five teams in the world who have all the biggest champions. And then you’ve got the rest who are fighting for points," he concludes.
Read also
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.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment