The frantic search for 2025 reinforcements at Astana Qazaqstan continues with another big name in the professional peloton linked to a move to the Kazakh WorldTour team.
It appears that the 36-year-old Wout Poels has found the motivation to continue his career with Astana Qazaqstan, Daniel Benson informs.
Astana is currently lacking in... well... pretty much all areas and thus the arrival of a strong climber such as Poels is more than welcome. It'd be out of place to expect Poels to suddenly finish top-10 at a Grand Tour or go on a winning streak in week-long stage races, but his consistent contribution by "always being up there" could prove vital for Astana's hopes to at least secure an automatic wildcard for WT events in 2026. Realistically speaking, saving the WorldTour license with their current deficit is very much a wishful thinking...
Poels can be rightfully considered as one of the veterans of peloton as he would enter his seventeenth season among pros next year. The Dutch rider turned professional with Vacansoleil in 2009 and when the Dutch formation folded five years later, he briefly joined forces with Patrick Lefevere's Omega Pharma - Quick Step in 2014 before spending five years as part of Team Sky's iconic mountain train, present to four Tour de France overall victories of the British team during his stay.
At the end of 2019, Poels still felt the motivation to pursue his own results, choosing to make a move to Bahrain - Victorious. Highlights of his stay in the Bahrain-licensed team are 6th place overall at Vuelta in 2020 and then stage victories at Tour and Vuelta last year.
This season was a bit of up and down for the experienced Dutchman. His start to 2024 wasn't bad, but things didn't click at his favourite Ardennes classics and his participation at Tour de France was marked by an illness that didn't allow Poels to be competitive for the first two weeks. An 8th place from a breakaway on stage 17 is not much to write home about, but with Tadej Pogacar sweeping all remaining mountain stages, there wasn't much else to be done for Poels.
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
- Pidcock finished 9th place, 29 minutes down. he is a helluva rider, so gutsy. and he is amazing at all disciplines. but this headline is . . .mij09-11-2026
- I know, watch the video. and listen to her competitors. it was a tricky tacky call at best. WTF is this guy talking about??? my original comment was from the picture it didn't look like anything.mij09-11-2026
- I dunno what you're talking about. you make no sense. MS's competitor and the competitors coach said it was BS. she didn't deviate in a way that relegation should be required. revel LOL. you're so cool, in your own mind.mij09-11-2026
- deviation lol, watch the videomij09-11-2026
- the 'No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines' comment was unfortunately a bit off. didn't you just boast about your principles in the comments section of another article?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- Are you MrMauMau 2.0? Nothing you are saying is really relevant. Vaguely connected, but irrelevant. The conversation is whether Schreiber impeded Brand or not.
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - 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
Loading
🚨Wout Poels is leaving Bahrain-Victorious and looks set to join Astana in 2025. 🇰🇿🇧🇭🇳🇱 🔗For all the latest transfer news head to the transfer link in my bio and subscribe to my Substack
Write a comment