Alberto Bettiol is expected to switch from EF Education-EasyPost to Astana Qazaqstan during the August transfer window, as Astana apparently use their new funding from China to immediately strengthen their roster and so pursue UCI ranking points and a place in the 2026 WorldTour.
Mid-season transfers are rare in professional cycling but are allowed between August 1-15 under UCI rules. The rider and the two teams involved must strike a deal with the UCI then giving final approval. Cyclingnews understands that the two teams have reached a deal, with the UCI expected to give the green light for the deal after the Paris Olympics end on Sunday.
Ciro Scognamiglio from La Gazzetta dello Sport first revealed news of the transfer on Thursday morning, with Daniel Benson explaining via his Substack page that Bettiol will agree terms for a new and very lucrative three and a half year contract with Astana Qazaqstan. Cyclingnews has obtained information about the expected deal from two sources.
Cyclingnews reported during the first week of the Tour de France that Chinese carbon manufacturer XDS Carbon-Tech will invest in the Astana team, sparking the arrival of a major Chinese sponsor in the men’s WorldTour and “significant changes’ in the team.
The deal could allow EF Education-EasyPost to sign an additional rider in the transfer window or free-up funds for a new signing for 2025. Bettiol is amongst 15 riders at the end of the contracts in 2024. Simon Carr has already revealed he will join Cofidis, while Rigoberto Uran will retire. EF Education-EasyPost have still to announce any new signings.
Bettiol won the Italian national road race title in June, Milan-Turin in March and was fifth at Milan-San Remo. He has scored 1434 points so far during the 2024 season. They will remain with EF Education-EasyPost for the three-year team ranking that is vitally important awarding the next WorldTour licences for 2026 but any points that Bettiol scores with Astana in 2024 will go to their points total.
According to data analyst Raúl Banqueri, Astana are currently ranked 21st and so risk missing out on a WorldTour licence for 2026-2028. They need to score 3,300 points more than Team dsm-firmenich PostNL in the next 18 months, if they are to become one of the 18 WorldTour teams in 2026. They also need to score more points than Arkéa-B&B Hotel and Uno-X Mobility, who are also targeting promotion. Cofidis are also at risk of relegation if rival teams score significantly more points in the next 18 months.
Bettiol could be the first of several new signings for Astana for 2024 and 2025 as they chase UCI ranking points.
The Italian could help score precious points in the final months of 2024 and is likely to ride a series of one-day races where more points are on offer, such as Bretagne Classic-Ouest-France, the Bemer Cyclassics in Hamburg and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal in Canada.
