XDS Astana have found a UCI points goldmine – And they’re heading back for more
CyclingFriday, 18 September 2026 at 11:09
Unlike last year, XDS Astana Team's situation in the UCI ranking is no longer alarming. In fact, the Kazakh-Chinese formation is thriving in the same manner it miraculously rescued its WorldTour status twelve months ago. Not by signing a star leader, but rather with a calculated approach and unmatched consistency at targetted events, such as the most recent Tour of Taihu Lake (2.1), won by Matteo Malucelli.
Back at the end of 2024 season, the situation at Astana seemed dismal. Sure, the team of Alexandre Vinokourov managed something wonderful: to place Mark Cavendish in the history books with a record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage victory. But have they sacrificed too much in pursuit of this goal?
That's exactly what everyone—myself included—assumed at the time. They were trailing a WorldTour license, securing 18th position of Cofidis by nearly 5,000 UCI points, and have only 12 months to turn their situation upside down. With a team that lacked leading figures, it appeared to be an impossible task.
The dire state of Astana's roster did not go unnoticed by its management either. For the 2025 season, no less than 15 riders have been replaced with new faces. Thanks to a new Chinese sponsor, the team gained freedom to "free itself off the 10 Kazakh riders limit," and the overall quality immediately skyrocketed.
Among the recruits, crucial ones have proven to be Mike Teunissen (846 points), Clément Champoussin (957 points), Diego Ulissi (972 points), Aaron Gate (798 points), and Matteo Malucelli (701 points).
That doesn't sound like a lot of points individually, but all of them would've outscored the best scorer at Astana in 2024; thus, the impact is more than apparent... Suddenly, the overlooked Astana ranked 4th in the world in 2025—more than enough to survive in WorldTour.
They can't get away with it twice ...unless...
The question was, now that every team witnessed their "min-max" scoring strategy, will they get away with the same trick in the future seasons? Well, nine months later in September 2026, we must acknowledge that it still works wonders.
Lorenzo Fortunato (left) and Christian Scaroni celebrate XDS Astana's most recognizable victory of 2025 at Giro d'Italia
With one month left until the end of this season, XDS Astana sits 6th overall with 14,294 UCI points, almost 6,000 points clear off the relegation battle. And their strongest segment of the year has only just begun!
The masters of the Asian calendar
Although most of the UCI calendar is concentrated on European soil, a hefty amount of UCI points is also on offer away from the "old continent." And XDS Astana understands this perfectly.
Without any compromises, the Kazakh team is ready to send strong—if not their best—lineups to all relevant events in East Asia in search of UCI points, as many of these races are being looked down on by their other WorldTour rivals as "exotic."
Barring the Championships (Asian - 750 and National - 280), XDS Astana have so far scored 395 points at the Tour of Hainan in April, 215 points at the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai in July, and most recently 259 points at the Tour of Taihu Lake this week.
The race around Taihu Lake seems to have found its new local legend in Matteo Malucelli. For a second year in a row, the Italian sprinter secured a GC victory, alongside two stages in 2025 and three this year.
At the age of 32, it seems like Malucelli found his place in WorldTour after he had competed for eight different outfits during his first ten seasons as a professional. In 2025, XDS Astana made a bet on the Italian as its lead sprinter for exactly this type of races, and he did not disappoint at all.
Read also
A lot more on offer
Before the season comes to a close, XDS Astana will stay in Asia for four more appointments: Le Tour de Langkawi (27/09-04/10), Tour de Kyushu (10/10-12/10), Hong Kong Cyclothon (11/10), and Tour of Guangxi (13/10-18/10). Everywhere, they'll clash some of their rivals, but it's sure to be easier to score points here than in similar events in Italy, France, or Belgium at the same period.
And not to forget, Yevgeniy Fedorov, Nicolas Vinokourov, and Haoyu Su are more than likely to add plenty of points through the Asian Games in Japan, taking place next Wednesday with up to 250 UCI points on offer. Fedorov is the defending champion in the road race.
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
- No doubt Remco's father will e be preparing excuse if he loses the TT.Looking forward to worlds but not the constant excuses and whinging from Remco. You never get excuses or moaning from Pog when he is beaten.paultryan200218-09-2026
- Sorry Pops, that's delusional parental bias. Your boy was 3rd. Period. Woulda, coulda, shoulda doesn't make the wish & dream true prognasticating the future. Humility & respect are appreciated traits. If Remco's occasional heated actions are on display, it's maybe fair to connect some dots back to parental figure as an influence. Benefits of doubt would give hope Pops comments are taken out of context & click baited all of us.aswanson18-09-2026
- That's true and he'd be feeling confident considering his Tour podium.awp18-09-2026
- I'd like Del Toro to go back. THAT'S some unfinished business.wrsty18-09-2026
- It was a high likelihood he would have won the 2023 Giro had he not come down with covid. By the time he had withdrawn he had won two stages and was leading on gc by almost a minute. I doubt Tadej races the Giro next year. If Tadej and Jonas don't race it and Remco can keep the rubber side down he has another good chance to win the race.awp18-09-2026
- UAE asked Wellens to do the late races before Pog crashed. For sure they would like Del Toro to win, but they did not suddenly ask Wellens not to ride the Worlds when Pog withdrew.Hills3317-09-2026
- It is obvious. UAE want del Toro to win so they can have the Rainbow Bands in the team. Wellens would assist Remco in denying del Toro, potentially being a satellite rider (and a long range attack is what is best for Remco). UAE don't want that, so are sending Wellens to the CRO race so he can't help Evenepoel
Rafionain-Glas17-09-2026 - So Belgian and therefore so ironic. Start by getting along with or accepting each other and maybe representing your country won’t be such dilemma. Funny how when we hear about this kind of thing it’s always from the same countries, Belgium for the men and The Netherlands for the women, unless of course you count Tadej’s refusal.Mistermaumau17-09-2026
- What was funny was that Red Bull's official news website didn't state how long the contract is forRafionain-Glas17-09-2026
- Michael Goolaerts (RIP), Briastre: in 2018 he suffered a cardiac arrest and crashed.,which was sadly fatal. Johan Museeuw, Arenberg: suffered a serious fractured kneecap in 1998 which threatened his career Davide Ballerini: Fractures of the hamate and trapezium bones in the left wrist in 2025. Ayco Bastiaens also sustained a left collarbone fractured, while Stefan Küng sustained facial and knee injuries and Silvan Dillier fractured his right hand, still completing his work for van der Poel.Rafionain-Glas17-09-2026
Loading
Write a comment