XDS Astana 2026 Tour de France: Astana in stage hunting mode

2025 Tour de France: 

• 2025 Tour stage wins: 0 
• 2025 Best GC finish: Sergio Higuita - 14th

2026 Objectives:

The Kazakh team arrives at the Tour with two main objectives: to chase stage victories across different terrains and secure a strong general classification result with Harold Tejada.

“We have riders like Harold Tejada, who’s going for the general classification,” said Mike Teunissen.

Max Kanter will target the bunch sprints, supported by Teunissen and Davide Ballerini. Teunissen will also act as road captain and help position Tejada during the decisive stages.

Sergio Higuita and Simone Velasco will pursue opportunities on hilly and mountain stages, while Aaron Gate and Nicolas Vinokourov complete a versatile squad built to attack from breakaways.

🇳🇱 Mike Teunissen (33): Teunissen is one of the few riders who will line up having formerly worn the yellow jersey, after sprinting to a surprise victory on the opening stage in 2019. Teunissen still has what it takes to compete at the sharp end of the biggest races, having finished tenth at Paris-Roubaix and fourteenth at Milan-Sanremo this spring. In particular, the Dutchman has formed a strong partnership as a leadout man for Max Kanter, which could be crucial in the sprint stages. 

🇨🇴 Sergio Higuita (28): The Colombian climber flew under the radar last year to finish fourteenth overall. This season, some strong climbing results include second at the AlUla Tour and eleventh at the Tour de Romandie. Higuita is the type of rider who can achieve a solid GC position at the Tour, while also having the freedom to get into breakaways.

🇨🇴 Harold Tejada (29): The Colombian is a rider who is currently at the peak of his powers, illustrated no less by winning a stage and finishing tenth at Paris-Nice. Tejada rode both the Tour and Vuelta last year and was in countless breakaways in both, coming just short of a stage victory. However, his 2026 shape gives him a great foundation to win a Grand Tour stage for the first time in his career this summer. 

🇩🇪 Max Kanter (28): Enjoying one of the best seasons of his career, Max Kanter is expected to lead the line for XDS Astana in the sprints. The 28-year-old German claimed the biggest stage victory of his career in March at Paris-Nice, illustrating his great partnership with Mike Teunissen. Kanter should arrive at the Tour in top form after finishing third on two stages of the recent Baloise Belgium Tour.

🇰🇿 Nicolas Vinokurov (23): The recently crowned Kazakh Champion has been selected for his first Tour de France. Vinokurov has raced the Vuelta twice previously, and will make the step up to the Tour after finishing in the GC top 10 at the AlUla Tour and Tour of Hainan, as well as finishing 20th at Paris-Nice.

🇮🇹 Simone Velasco (30): The former Italian champion brings a strong 2025 to Barcelona, with fourth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and a place in the stage 20 Tour breakaway to Pontarlier. The Bologna-born climber suits the medium-mountain stages and is expected to be in the long breakaways on the lumpy days.

🇮🇹 Davide Ballerini (31): Ballerini finished second to Wout van Aert on the closing stage of the 2025 Tour de France after the Belgian's Montmartre attack. He added two top-10 Tour stages at Valence and Toulouse and a 2026 Giro d'Italia stage win. The Italian can win from a chaotic breakaway or sprint.

🇳🇿 Aaron Gate (35): Gate makes his Tour de France debut in 2026 at the age of 35 after a strong 2025 with XDS Astana, including the Boucles de la Mayenne overall, second at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and stage wins at the Tour of Hainan and Tour de Langkawi.