The XDS Astana team's push to gain enough points to remain in the WorldTour at the end of the three-year promotion/relegation cycle this year has gotten off to a flying start. The team went from being 21st in the 2024 UCI rankings to second, only placed behind Tadej Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates squad after two months of racing in 2025.
However, the team still have a long way to go in the three-year rankings after dismal points hauls in 2023 and 2024. They are still in 21st place in the 2023-2025 rankings as of February 24, with a deficit of 3,397.91 points on 18th placed Cofidis. That margin is down from 4,719.57 points at the end of last season.
While XDS Astana have closed the gap to Cofidis, and the other two teams just ahead of them - Arkéa-B&B Hotels and Uno-X Mobility - that leaves 17th-placed Picnic-PostNL only another 218.58 points ahead of the 18th spot, and will also be under pressure to gain points to avoid relegation.
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Team manager Dario Cataldo told Wielerflits this week that the team has been working on filling performance gaps since last year when they focussed on delivering Mark Cavendish to a record number of stage wins in the Tour de France.
"It is not always easy to put your finger on what exactly was missing and how you fill those gaps," Cataldo said. "Moreover, you cannot achieve something like that in two days. It is a combination of good riders, good staff members and good material that ensures a motivated group. The good results are the result when all those pillars come together."
The team has benefitted from performances such as Christian Scaroni's overall win in the Tour des Alpes and Classic Var as well as his other podium placings. Aaron Gate's second place in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race was worth 250 points while riders such as Max Kanter, Clément Champoussin and Matteo Malucelli have multiple top 10's contributing to their tally.
A combination of a cash infusion from the Chinese bicycle maker XDS and a strong list of recruits coming into the team for 2025, focussed not on Grand Tour overall finishes but a wider variety of results.
"We opted for riders who have proven that they can be consistent throughout the season," Cataldo said. "You also have very good riders who can only peak in a few races per season, but we ignored them.
"Then you have a very good leader for the classification in the Tour de France, for example. But that is a difficult goal to achieve, and with those guys you miss a large part of the rest of the season. We all have guys who can score a lot of points in all one-day races and short stage races. They know what they have to do, we have a good core."
The team still believe they can remain in the WorldTour, he added.
"We still believe in that. We not only have good riders, but also made sensible choices in the calendar. In any case, there is a good strategy, but it is primarily focused on this year.
"If we are no longer in the WorldTour next year, is that a disaster? Aren't there still big teams that are no longer WorldTeams, but can still ride all the big races? Of course you might miss a few races, but you can continue to race at a high level."
