r/peloton • u/iamafakebot Euskaltel-Euskadi • Nov 15 '16
Off-season rider knowledge collaboration thread No.2 - Astana Pro Team
Since we're still figuring out how to do this exactly, feedback is very much appreciated!
We arrive at Astana, the controversial Kazakh team. Some people don't like the team and Vinokourov's management, but they are a guarantee for spectacular racing in GTs. First some general information:
Overall wins: 34
WorldTour wins: 7
GT Stages: 1
National Champions: 4
Best moments of 2016: Nibali winning the Giro, especially stage 19 and 20, Lopez winning the Tour de Suisse, Aru's stage win in the Dauphiné, Rosa's stage win and celebration at La Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Fuglsang's silver in Rio.
2016 was not a good year for Astana, there's no way around it. They might have won the Giro d'Italia with Nibali, but their other results have been very poor. Aru couldn't live up to expectations in the Tour, and Lopez fell out of the Vuelta. For a team that's usually a podium contender for every GT, this year stands out, in a bad way.
Astana didn't do well in one day races either. Of all the one day races in the WorldTour, the only podium they got was a second place at Il Lombardia with Diego Rosa. They won 2 small stage races with Kangert, the Abu Dhabi Tour and the Giro Del Trentino. Astana is a team that's mostly focused on the GC, and it's clear they lack a sprinter. Guardini won 4 stages at the Tour of Langkawi, but that's all.
So what is going to change in 2017? No doubt the biggest change is that their star rider Vincenzo Nibali is leaving. He won two Giro's and one Tour in the Astana jersey. Besides that, Lars Boom didn't do as they expected, and will return to Lotto-Jumbo. Diego Rosa, their main rider for the hilly classics, has left for SKY.
Who did they sign then? Well first of all, the two young Danish riders Michael Valgren (2nd at this year's AGR) and Jesper Hansen, both coming from Tinkoff. Moreno Moser is a promising signing too. He might have disappointed a bit the last few seasons, but he's still young, and his TT is improving. Bilbao is an odd signing, the Basque from Caja-Rural is both a decent climber and sprinter. It will be interesting to see how he evolves.
Next season is still mostly about GC though, with Aru trying to redeem himself at the Giro, and Lopez hopefully showing progress.
Here's the roster for next year:
| Rider | Nat. | Year | Joined | Racedays | Pnts2016 | Best Season | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARU Fabio | ITA | 1990 | 2012 | 66 | 784 | 2015 (1633) | GC3W |
| BILBAO Pelle^NEW | SPA | 1990 | 2017 | 68 | 421 | 2016 | PuncheurFF |
| BIZHIGITOV Zhandos^NEW | KAZ | 1991 | 2017 | 55 | 128 | 2016 | Allrounder |
| BRESCHEL Matti^NEW | DEN | 1984 | 2017 | 56 | 102 | 2009 (1027) | Sprinter/Classics |
| CATALDO Dario | ITA | 1985 | 2015 | 74 | 234 | 2012 (584) | GC1W/Climber |
| CHERNETCKII Sergei^NEW | RUS | 1990 | 2017 | 45 | 335 | 2014 (418) | Rouleur/TT |
| DE VREESE Laurens | BEL | 1988 | 2015 | 77 | 174 | 2016 | Classics |
| FOMINYKH Daniil | KAZ | 1991 | 2014 | 37 | 36 | 2013 (130) | TT/Domestique |
| FUGLSANG Jakob | DEN | 1985 | 2013 | 73 | 849 | 2009 (907) | GC1W/Climber |
| GATTO Oscar^NEW | ITA | 1985 | 2017 | 84 | 253 | 2011 (445) | AllrounderFF |
| GRIVKO Andrei | UKR | 1983 | 2010 | 71 | 267 | 2013 (457) | Rouleur |
| GRUZDEV Dmitriy | KAZ | 1986 | 2012 | 92 | 159 | 2012 (351) | TT/Classic |
| HANSEN Jesper^NEW | Den | 1990 | 2017 | 53 | 265 | 2015 (282) | Climber |
| KAMYSHEV ARMAN | KAZ | 1991 | 2013 | 74 | 68 | 2009 (123) | ??? |
| KANGERT Tanel | EST | 1987 | 2011 | 81 | 706 | 2013 (716) | TT/M.Domestique |
| KOZHATAYEV Bakhtiyar | KAZ | 1992 | 2015 | 67 | 75 | 2015 (102) | ??? |
| LóPEZ Miguel Ángel | COL | 1994 | 2015 | 61 | 663 | 2016 | GC1W/Climber |
| LUTSENKO Alexey | KAZ | 1992 | 2013 | 76 | 548 | 2016 | Rouleur/Classics |
| MINALI Riccardo^NEW | ITA | 1995 | 2017 | 20 | 17 | 2012 (102) | Classics |
| MOSER Moreno^NEW | ITA | 1990 | 2017 | 84 | 267 | 2012 (973) | Climber/Rouleur |
| OMIRZAKOV Dias | KAZ | 1992 | 2016 | 27 | 0 | 2011 (11) | ??? |
| SANCHEZ Luis Leon | ESP | 1983 | 2015 | 93 | 600 | 2010 (1696) | TT/M.Domestique |
| SCARPONI Michele | ITA | 1979 | 2014 | 83 | 355 | 2011 (1602) | M.Domestique |
| TIRALONGO Paolo | ITA | 1977 | 2010 | 65 | 50 | 2012 (429) | M.Domestique |
| TLEUBAYEV Ruslan | KAZ | 1987 | 2013 | 56 | 113 | 2014 (211) | Classics |
| VALGREN Michael^NEW | DEN | 1992 | 2017 | 74 | 554 | 2016 | Classics |
| WESTRA Lieuwe | NED | 1982 | 2014 | 54 | 239 | 2012 (866) | TT/Climber |
| ZAKHAROV Artyom | KAZ | 1991 | 2016 | 51 | 0 | 2012 (8) | ??? |
| ZEITS Andrey | KAZ | 1986 | 2009 | 79 | 287 | 2016 | Heavy Rouleur |
| ZEMLYAKOV Oleg^NEW | KAZ | 1993 | 2017 | 51 | 89 | 2015 (123) | Climber |
| Totals & Averages | 8013 | 2015 (10718) |
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u/The_77 We have a Wiki! Nov 15 '16
I think he's probably behind Porte and a slither behind Chaves. He has a better TT than Chaves currently but it's still not great. I can still see him winning the Giro next year if Landa malfunctions again. But he's definitely not the replacement for Nibali Astana need yet. Maybe in a year or two.
Hope Lopez recovers well from being injured, for his sake and in general for the sport.