XDS Astana sign Uruguay's national champion - "His move to the World Tour was only a matter of time"

It has been one of the longest kept open-secrets of the entire winter. As early as the 27th of August, it was already known that XDS Astana Team was looking to sign Thomas Silva of Caja Rural - Seguros RGA, and a transfer had been known virtually for quite a long time. Yet it was never announced, until this Monday morning, with the Kazakh team confirming its 29th rider for the 2026 season.

“Over the past few years, Thomas Silva has grown significantly, and his progress at the pro-continental level has been very noticeable, so his move to the World Tour was only a matter of time," team manager Alexandr Vinokourov said in a press release. "I am glad that we reached a consensus with Caja Rural – Seguros RGA management and were able to make this transition before the 2026 season. I believe that in our team, Thomas will have everything he needs to continue the forward momentum he has built over the past two seasons”

Silva had a standing contract with the Spanish team, it's unclear what exact terms were, but a 'consensus' was reached according to the team boss. it comes as a blow for Caja Rural, but the signing of Fernando Gaviria makes for an interesting risk into the upcoming season, and a potential revival could spark the team back into the headlines.

As for Silva, he is 23 years old and is perhaps Uruguay's best performer in the current peloton. He is the current national champion of the south American nation and is a product of the team's development ranks. He turned pro in 2024 and quickly began to impress: In 2024 he won a stage of the Volta ao Alentejo, finished second in the 2.Pro-ranked Tour of Qinghai Lake, and finished high up in several one-day races including a second place only behind Marc Hirschi at the GP Industria & Artigianato.

In 2025 Silva won the mountain classification at the Vuelta a Andalucia, and continued to show his puncheur specialty with a fourth place at the GP MIguel Indurain where Thibau Nys took the win. He once again won in Portugal (this time the opening day of the GP Internacional Beiras e Serra da Estrela which he led until the final day) and finishing second again in Qinghai; and at the Vuelta a España he finished on the Top10 twice, both on the opening days of the race, in Novara and Voiron.

“I am very happy and inspired by the opportunity to take a big step into the World Tour with such a prestigious historical team as XDS Astana Team," Silva added. "I am looking forward to joining the team, anticipating the new season, and my motivation is at the highest level! There is a lot of work ahead, but I am ready to give my all to continue improving as a professional rider”.