The Kazakh cycling team, XDS-Astana is back in action again in a major tour, having selected a strong group to contest the Vuelta a España, currently underway after the opening stage in Monaco yesterday.
The eight XDS-Astana riders include Harold Tejada, who performed well in France in July, and who will probably be targeting a podium finish in this race. This is not just because of his talent, but because some big names are absent from the line-up, despite the Vuelta being a highly respected race. It is one of the three grand tours that all top riders want to win.
Joining Tejada is Kazakhstani, Yevgeniy Fedorov, who is the only Kazakh citizen on his team, as seven different nationalities make up the outfit headed by Alexander Vinokurov this year in Spain. There are two Italians, an Eritrean, a Spaniard, and a Dutch rider, all joined by Victor Langellotti, riding in his home country of Monaco.
Langellotti is the only Monegasque professional in the race, a tour which will head to Spain in a few days after a few stages in France, as well as the Grand Depart which took place in Monaco.
Fedorov is not the only Kazakhstani to enter the race, however, as his compatriot Alexey Lutsenko, himself a former Astana rider, competes for the NSN Cycling Team despite not featuring in the 2026 Tour de France.
The stage finished with two riders tied for first place, one of whom Tadej Pogacar, who is now aiming to be one of few riders who have won all three main tours. Tejada complete the time trial 36 seconds back, while Lutsenko has a deficit of only 32 seconds going into Stage 2.
Granted, the Vuelta a España simply can’t compete with the Tour de France on many fronts, but the difficulty of the event is no less, and any winner of the Spanish event has burned just as many calories as the lad who gets the job done in France.
As for who that is likely to be, well, some predict that Tadej Pogacar could win this year’s Vuelta by a record winning margin. Or is it just me?
