XDS Astana renew with veteran that goes into his 18th year at World Tour level - "He is a true leader"
Cycling
In professional cycling, more than ever, most teams look towards youth and new talent to add to their team. In this landscape, experienced riders are more valuable than ever in helping to guide and shape the current World Tour teams. Diego Ulissi, a World Tour rider since 2010, will stay in the peloton one more year.
Vinokourov happy with an experienced Ulissi in the team
“Diego is an incredibly experienced and strong rider who has a huge influence on how the team performs, both during races and outside of them," team manager Alexandr Vinokourov said in a press release.
Ulissi's stint in the sport began in 2010, turning pro with the Lampre team as a 20-year old. At that time, winning as a very young rider was not as easy as the current young stars make it seem, but Ulissi has done so every single season since he entered the top of the cycling world. He is the rider that has had the most consecutive years as a winner in the peloton.
In 2026 the Italian has not yet managed to take a pro win, but has come close on several occasions - most recently, coming third in a stage of the Giro d'Italia. But aside from what the veteran does on the bike, it is his work outside the bike that carries equal importance to the Kazakh team, that is based in Italy and currently has 10 of his compatriots alongside him.
"He is a true leader whom the younger riders naturally look up to. I’m delighted that he still has the motivation to compete at the highest level, because everything else is still there – his experience, race vision and ability to make the right decisions quickly, helping his teammates achieve victories. Diego is having a very strong season, and I hope he will continue at the same level next year”.
Diego Ulissi races in the World Tour since 2010
Read also
Ulissi prolongs incredibly long and successful career
Ulissi is a rider whose career is marked by a suspension that took place in 2014 and 2015, but has nevertheless had a massive influence in the sport. An eight-time Giro d'Italia stage winner, Ulissi has 49 pro wins in his palmarès and this includes several major classics and also wins in non-World Tour stage-races. A talented classics rider, over the years he has also stood out with occasional strong performances in the mountains.
Nowadays, Ulissi is a road captain at Astana, guiding his teammates to victory often whilst also having some of his own opportunities. He was key in the team's pursuit of a World Tour license throughout the 2025 season and continues to be close to the Top100 when it comes to the UCI points rankings.
“I’m very happy to continue with XDS Astana Team because after these past eighteen months I can confidently say that I have found an incredible group of riders and staff who work exceptionally well together," Ulissi added.
"In every race I always try to give my maximum, and I will continue to do so next season, bringing my experience to help the team achieve even greater results. I would like to thank Alexandr Vinokurov, the team management and our sponsors for their trust and for giving me this new opportunity".
In 2027 Ulissi will continue to make his presence felt in the peloton, with Astana still yet to unveil its transfers for the upcoming season. "This season is not over yet, and we still have several important goals ahead of us. Then a new season will begin, and together with the team we will aim even higher," he concluded.
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.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- The Erola Jons incident was not isolated. She felt she could do that because that's how everyone treats Tadej. Remember when he said "If I say wait 2 mins do you show the middle finger and walk off angry?" about the supposed fan who did exactly that? There's nothing wrong with the nurses and doctors asking him to give autographs... but do the surgery first
Rafionain-Glas01-11-2026 - Perhaps he has what Mark Cavendish had, the Epstein-Barr Virus. It caused him severe and unexplained chronic fatigue. I hope he gets better.
parisbound0001-11-2026 - How can medical staff act like that? pretty disgraceful! the guys down and they're near seeing him off ;/
leedorney01-11-2026 - I think that this is exactly what Jonas needs at this point in his career. It's something that could revive his passion for winning, and he's physically more than capable of winning one of those races as well.
santiagobenites01-11-2026 - What a great race! Couldn't look away. Can't wait for the eurosRafionain-Glas01-11-2026
- I think other competitors also had great Tours, so it wasn't that Ferrand-Prévot necessarily failed in some way - it's more likely that the other top riders lifted their game and maybe also a bit of luck with no crashes, etc. It's the Tour de France after all. It's not meant to be easy to defend your title (the few exceptions like Pogacar prove the rule).Pogboom01-11-2026
- maybe we should put our cv at the end of each comment post ... same rights for all of us!Ketterechts01-11-2026
- hahah literally all it is. Glad im not the only one noticing, essentially this is just a blog as it is now. Run buy boys from their bedroom hehe Their very subjective aswell, people on twitter even said their pure visma fanboys, if you listen to Ruben silva guy pre TDF this year all he said turned out to be wrong and constantly fail to realize visma isnt where they was before roster wice or means to contest even RBH or Lidl anymore, ,very biased ppl and when you run ''news articles that way its problematic..miguel01-11-2026
- The new joke of the year in 2027: "If both guys (Pogi and Seixas) finish upright on their bikes and both don't get sick for some reason, I think Paul will fight Tadej to the end and will possibly beat him in 2027 at the Tour, yes, I just said that." ... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ...PogiSloFans01-11-2026
- Cutting his suit up and getting him to sign it while quite seriously injured is absolutely ghoulishwrsty01-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment