The XDS Astana team will pivot dramatically for 2025 after Chinese bike manufacturer XDS became a major investor, boosting the team's ambitions and budget.
Mark Cavendish's historic but singular stage victory at the Tour de France is part of the team's past, with the arrival of a Chinese title sponsor and WorldTour survival the first step towards super team status.
XDS Astana have signed 13 new riders for 2025, including Wout Poels, Diego Ulissi, Mike Teunissen, Sergio Higuita, Clément Champoussin and Aaron Gate. Alberto Bettiol joined mid-season in 2024, indicating the team's post-Cavendish plans.
Kiwi sprinter Gate was a strategic signing. He won the Tour of Hainan and the Trans-Himalaya Cycling Race in China in 2024 but can also score precious extra points in the New Zealand and Oceania championships. He will team up with Italy's Matteo Malucelli, who won ten minor races in 2024 and impressed at Le Tour de Langkawi.
Alex Dowsett, Pete Kennaugh and Dario Cataldo have bolstered the team's performance and management staff, with Vasilis Anastopoulos leading a Performance group of 13 staff members.
Cavendish seemed set for a role in the team after winning at the Tour de France and ending his career. However, Vinokourov told Cyclingnews that the Manxman will not have a role in 2025, without closing the door to his future involvement in the team.
XDS has significantly boosted the budget but the team will be registered in Kazakhstan in 2025, with Vinokourov firmly in control.
"We have a good relationship with Mark, he was very important to us. But sometimes it's not easy to find an exact role for someone in the team and that was the case with Mark," Vinokourov explained.
"Mark didn't want to just be an ambassador for the team, Mark wanted to be part of the decision-making structure but that wasn't possible yet. We still have a good relationship and we'll see what happens later. Maybe in the future."
Cavendish's record-breaking 35th Tour victory was a historic moment for the team but in 2025, XDS Astana will be fully focused on scoring vital UCI ranking points. Every point will count, from the start of the season in January until the end of the season at the Tour of Guangxi in China.
XDS Astana starts 2025 in 21st place in the three-year UCI team ranking, behind Uno-X Mobility, Arkéa - B&B Hotels and Cofidis. They need to pull back over 4000 points if they want to finish in the top 18 teams and so secure a place in the 2026-2028 WorldTour. Some believe it is impossible but the team have set it as a goal.
"It's just a pity that Mark's 35th Tour victory wasn't worth 5000 UCI ranking points," Vinokourov said, well aware of the battle his team faces.
"Our goal is to keep our WorldTour licence in 2025 and then we can build more and more. Maybe we can then sign a Grand Tour rider to target the GC. The sponsors want to develop and become a super team, like UAE, Red Bull and others. It's not easy and doesn't come quickly. It'll be step by step."
XDS Astana presented their ambitions, new X-Lab brand race bike and new jersey at the XDS factory at the weekend. The team has been in Spain for much of December. The riders are training hard, the staff working to integrate all the changes.
New Performance Engineer Alex Dowsett is convinced the new X-Lab bikes will be competitive at WordTour level, right from the start of the season, with further improvement possible thanks to the team's direct link to the XDS factory in China.
Anastopoulos helped Cavendish return to his best in 2034 but has created a race plan and strategy to maximise XDS Astana's points scoring potential.
"The team has changed massively, we've been working hard since last May. It's not easy but most of it is done and the team is coming together. XDS has invested massively, we've made changes and now it's up to us." Vinokourov told Cyclingnews.
"There are eight or so teams fighting to avoid relegation next year. I believe we can do it. We'll target points and success right from the Tour Down Under in January. We've added about 40 more on-day races to our programme to target more points.
"We've done our calculations and with the new riders we've signed, with good motivation and with our good bikes from XDS, I think we can score the points needed to stay in the WorldTour."
