XDS Astana's sweep through Asia begins; How many points can they "effortlessly" rack-up in the last month of 2026?
CyclingFriday, 18 September 2026 at 06:00
Unlike last year, XDS Astana Team's situation in 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 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 sky-rocketed.
Among the recruits, crucial 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 out-scored the best scorer at Astana in 2024, thus the impact is more than apparent... Suddenly, the overlooked Astana ranked 4th in the world - 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 Scaroni (left) and Christian Scaroni celebrates 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 Asian calendar
Although most of the UCI calendar is concentrated on European soil, a hefty amount of UCI points is on offer also away from the "old continent". And XDS Astana understand 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 Tour of Hainan in April, 215 points at Tour of Magnificent Qinghai in July, and most recently at 259 points at 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.
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.
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And not to forget, Yevgeniy Fedorov, Nicolas Vinokourov and Haoyu Su are more than likely to add plenty 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.
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