Cycling: Just a few years ago, Astana was one of the most successful teams in road cycling. However, that is now history. Alexandre Vinokourov's cyan team has been following behind for over two years. The 2023 season was also absolutely disappointing for Astana.
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Astana weak again – only Cavendish gets on the podium
Twelve months ago, quite a few fans and experts laughed at the Astana team because they were with Mark Cavendish have signed a driver who is already well past his peak. In retrospect, Alexandre Vinokourov must be congratulated on this coup. In this way, the Briton was not only able to ensure enormous media presence, but also achieved the only really valuable results. Cavendish won a section of the Giro d'Italia and was second in a stage at the Tour de France. He also finished third once in the UAE Tour and the Giro d'Italia. In doing so, he single-handedly ensured all four of his team's podium finishes in the WorldTour. Astana was significantly more successful in less important and less well-known races. alexey lutsenko for example, won the Tour of Turkey, the Memorial Marco Pantani, the Giro di Sicilia and the Circuito de Getxo. Among other things, further stage victories on tours below the WorldTour were ensured Andrey Zeits, Gleb Syritsa, Yevgeniy Gidich, Martin Laas and Simone Velasco.
2024: Everything has to get better
The great successes of the Astana team are now far behind. Since then, the team has gone steadily downhill. This downward trend is now to be halted through numerous transfers. 15 drivers – and therefore 50 percent of the entire 2023 squad – will no longer drive for Astana in 2024. In return, 14 new signings signed a contract. The signature of two Italians is particularly worth mentioning. David Ballerini could make Astana even more dangerous in sprints in the future, while Lorenzo Fortunato considered a very strong climber. Also the Dane Michael Morkov and the two Germans Max Kanter and Rüdiger Selig can make Astana better, especially in sprint preparation. Notable departures include Luis Leon Sanchez, Gianni Moscon and David de la Cruz.