Astana Qazaqstan announced the signing of 20-year-old Santiago Umba on Thursday. The Colombian had a four-year contract with Gianni Savio, first with Androni Giocattoli and Drone Hopper, then to the GW Shimano team after the Italian ProTeam ended.
Savio has a history of discovering talents in South America, having brought Egan Bernal and Ivan Sosa to the attention of the WorldTour.
Umba scored some fine results in 2021, including a podium in the Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc and a stage win on La Planche des Belles Filles in the Tour Alsace, but since has not been able to continue his progression due to injuries.
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However, Astana are in need of future talents, having lost stalwart Luis Léon Sánchez to retirement, Gianni Moscon to Soudal-Quickstep and Fabio Felline to Lidl-Trek.
Umba will join burgeoning talents like Henok Mulubrhan, who signed from Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè, along with more experienced acquisitions Max Kanter, Michael Mørkøv, Davide Ballerini and Ide Schelling.
"I am incredibly happy to sign my first contract with the WorldTour team and to become a part of such a big project as Astana Qazaqstan Team. I would like to thank all the team management for this opportunity, the trust that was placed in me. I am sure that Astana is the ideal team for me, and I think that I will be able to make a great progress here. I am ready to work hard, I am ready to gain experience at the highest level in order to become a true professional," Umba said in a team press release.
Manager Alexandr Vinokourov looked to Umba's experience racing in Europe as evidence of his promise in the WorldTour.
"We see a great potential in Santiago, that can be revealed in our team. Despite such a young age, Santiago has already ridden many important professional races, gained serious experience, which can serve as a basis for his further development. He has a number of high results at the youth level, he already knows what professional racing is, so all he needs is careful and systematic work that will allow him to reach a good level in the WorldTour," Vinokourov said.
