Astana Qazaqstan confirm Tejada, Felline, Boaro, Martinelli for 2022

Harold Tejada
Harold Tejada in action at the 2021 Giro d'Italia. (Image credit: Bettini)

Astana Qazaqstan have announced that Fabio Felline, Davide Martinelli, Manuele Boaro and Harold Tejada will all remain with the team in 2022 after they each signed two-year contract extensions.

The confirmation of Felline, Martinelli, and Boaro means that Astana’s 2022 roster will feature a total of 11 Italian riders, including new arrivals Vincenzo Nibali, Gianni Moscon and Valerio Conti, as well as Veneto Classic winner Samuele Battistella.

Felline won the Memorial Marco Pantani in his first season with the team in 2020 and rode in support of the Bora-Hansgrohe-bound Aleksandr Vlasov at this year’s Giro d’Italia.

"The new contract and the good changes in the team motivate me to work more and to push harder in the races in the new season," Felline said in a statement released by Astana on Friday.

Boaro has been a mainstay of the squad since his arrival in 2019. A strong rouleur and a natural attacker, he will also play a supporting role on behalf of Alexey Lutsenko and the new arrival Nibali.

"It is an honour and pleasure for me to ride side by side with them pursuing the common goals," said Boaro.

Martinelli, son of directeur sportif Giuseppe, joined from Deceuninck-QuickStep at the beginning of 2020. The Brescia native is a contemporary of new signing Gianni Moscon and is likely to race in support of him in the Classics next Spring.

"I am also happy to see that our Classics group has been strengthened so I hope we will be more competitive in these races," said Martinelli.

Tejada already caught the eye in his debut season as a professional, when he rode strongly in support of Miguel Ángel López at the 2020 Tour de France. In 2022, he will link up with his fellow Colombian once again, as López re-joins after an unhappy spell at Movistar. Astana have also signed their compatriot Sebastian Henao from Ineos for next season.

"Well, the last season was not the one I was hoping for due to different reasons, mostly connected with health problems and crashes. I expected a better debut at the Giro d’Italia," said Tejada, who placed 36th overall at the Giro.

"I hope I will be able to return to the level of 2020 when I had a really good season, and I will work 200 per cent to become stronger. I see some important and good changes inside the team, and I am really happy to welcome the new riders coming to our team and, of course, Miguel Ángel López who is coming back to us."

Astana’s roster has undergone significant changes for 2022 following the departure of Premier Tech as co-sponsor and the restoration of Alexandre Vinokourov as general manager.

They hae made 13 signings, including Nibali, Moscon, López and Joe Dombrowski, while Vlasov, Jakob Fulsang, Gorka and Ion Izagirre and Luis Leon Sanchez are among the riders to leave the squad for pastures new.

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling. Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell, the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English. The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999, and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling. Since then, major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features, news, results, photos and tech reporting. The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.