Alberto Bettiol joins Astana Qazaqstan Team
Starting today, August 15th, Italian rider Alberto Bettiol will join Astana Qazaqstan Team. The mid-season transfer occurred by mutual agreement with EF Education-EasyPost team. The contract with the rider includes the remainder of the current season as well as three additional years (2025–2027).
The 30-year-old Italian rider Alberto Bettiol is a recognized specialist in classic races. Among his major achievements are victories at the Monument Tour of Flanders (2019) and the world’s oldest classic race, Milan-Torino (2024), as well as a 2nd place at the Bretagne Classic (2016). Bettiol has also won a stage at the Giro d’Italia (2021) and the Tour Down Under (2023). Additionally, he is the current Italian road race national champion.
“First of all, I want to say that I am very happy to be joining Astana Qazaqstan Team. I was impressed by the interest the team showed in me and by the attitude I saw from Alexandr Vinokurov. All of this convinced me that I am making the right choice by making this move even in the middle of the season. I want to thank my previous team, EF Education-EasyPost, for all these years during which I have become the rider I am today. Yes, Astana Qazaqstan Team is a new team for me, but I’m confident that integrating into the team will be easy because I am already familiar with many of the riders and staff members. I can’t wait to meet the team and race together. I don’t know my exact program yet; we still need to discuss the calendar. For now, I am at the altitude training camp in Livigno, preparing for the second half of the season”,– said Alberto Bettiol.
“For us, Alberto Bettiol is primarily a reinforcement for classic and one-day races. He is spending an excellent season, and I hope that the second half of the year with our team will also be at a high level. I am grateful to the management of EF Education-EasyPost for their open and friendly approach during the discussions and preparation for this mid-season transfer, and I am pleased that we found many common goals and prospects with Alberto for his future in our team. Together with other riders, Bettiol will form a strong group capable of competing for top positions in classic races of any level. We are still discussing Alberto’s exact calendar, but I believe that we will soon see the Italian champion’s jersey in Astana Qazaqstan Team”, – said Alexandr Vinokurov.
