Astana Kazakhstan want to buy Caleb Ewan and are close to signing Sergio Higuita

Kazakhstan’s Astana are very active in the transfer market. While in the hunt for UCI points, Alberto Bettiol was already transferred from EF Education-EasyPost earlier this month. Wout Poels, Darren van Beekum and Nicolas Koonce have also signed for 2025. Team boss Alexander Vinokourov is now focused on signing Sergio Higuita and Caleb Ewan, several sources say. Cycling to.

The potential arrival of Caleb Ewan would be eye-catching. The 30-year-old Australian terminated his contract with Lotto Dstny by mutual agreement in October 2023, after months of wrangling with his team boss Stephane Heulot. pocket rocket He then signed a two-year deal with his old team, Jaico Al Ula. To this day, Ewan plays second fiddle to Dylan Groenewegen, who won a stage in the Tour de France. The Australian was due to compete in the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, but is currently missing from the latter.

Ewan has managed to win three UCI races this season, the last two of which took place last month (Vuelta Castilla y Leon and a stage in the Vuelta a Burgos). However, the sprinter was left at home for the very mountainous Tour of Spain, and instead rode the Tour of Poland. However, he gave up on the final stage and was unable to participate in the three mass sprints. Ewan has been one of the best sprinters in the world for many years. He has completed stages in all the Grand Tours (11 in total), also won the Hamburg Cyclassics and finished second twice in Milan-San Remo.

need for finishes
Vinokourov is working hard behind the scenes to get Ewan on board. This requires agreement with both the sprinter and his team, Jaiko Ala, as the Australian still has an ongoing contract. However, the Kazakh squad is committed to having a sprinter on board, as this could quickly lead to a lot of UCI points. Previously, Astana was a team of climbers and cyclists, but since 2023 they also have a sprint project. The final player there is now Mark Cavendish. He won another stage in the Tour de France, but will retire after this season.

For a long time, Caden Groves has been a dream addition to Astana Kazakhstan. The Australian also reportedly had a big offer in his pocket from the Kazakh outfit, but decided earlier this week to stay loyal to his current team Alpsin-Deceuninck. The need for a runner is apparently high Venuand it appears that interest in Ewan is growing. Several other sprint options are also no longer available on the market. Fernando Gaviria will probably renew his contract with Movistar and Phil Bauhaus will do the same with the Bahrain Victorious team. Only the future of Elia Viviani (35, INEOS Grenadiers) remains unclear.

Higuita at the Vuelta a Burgos – Photo: Cor Vos

Astana is located in Kazakhstan. pole position To welcome Sergio Higuita. The 27-year-old Colombian has an expiring contract with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, having fallen significantly down the pecking order after arriving in 2022. puncher He wants to go to a team that has more opportunities than he could get with the Kazakhs. In his first year in Germany, Higuita seemed to realize his potential, but then allergies led to a very modest performance in 2023. He is recovering this season. The Colombian has ten professional victories to his name, half of them at WorldTour level. He also finished in the top five at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.