Andrea Bagioli will leave Lidl-Trek at the end of the 2026 season after signing a two-year contract with XDS Astana Team covering the 2027 and 2028 campaigns.
The 27-year-old Italian gives XDS Astana another proven option for hilly one-day races and selective finishes as the Kazakh team continues to strengthen the part of its roster aimed at the Classics.
Bagioli has spent the past three seasons with Lidl-Trek after joining from Soudal Quick-Step at the beginning of 2024. His move will begin another chapter in a professional career that has already included victory at Gran Piemonte, second place at Il Lombardia and stage wins across several major stage races.
“As soon as I learned about XDS Astana Team’s interest and received the offer, I immediately felt that this would be the right choice for me,” Bagioli said.
“This is a project I have always followed with interest, and now the opportunity to become part of it really inspires me.”
XDS Astana continue strengthening their one-day group
Bagioli is at his best in races that sit between the territory of the pure climbers and traditional Classics specialists.
He produced arguably the strongest period of his professional career during the closing weeks of the 2023 season. Bagioli won Gran Piemonte before finishing second behind Tadej Pogačar at Il Lombardia, demonstrating both his ability to survive a hard climbing race and the finishing speed that can make him dangerous when a selective event reaches the final kilometres with a small group intact.
His arrival also fits a clear pattern in XDS Astana’s recruitment for 2027. The team has already confirmed that Anthony Turgis will join on a two-year contract from next season, adding another experienced one-day specialist to a roster that already contains several riders capable of performing across the Classics.
XDS Astana general manager Alexandr Vinokurov sees Bagioli as another rider who can strengthen that area.
“Andrea started his professional career at a young age, quickly making his mark and achieving a number of impressive results,” Vinokurov said.
“We have been following this rider for a long time, and now we have the opportunity to bring him into our project. I believe that at XDS Astana Team, Bagioli will have the opportunity to fulfil his full potential.”
Vinokurov added that one-day racing remains one of the team’s priorities.
“Our team performs well in one-day races, which is one of our priority areas, and adding Andrea Bagioli should help us improve our results even further.”
Bagioli has returned to winning in 2026
The transfer comes during an encouraging season for Bagioli after two years at Lidl-Trek in which opportunities to race for himself have often had to be balanced against the extraordinary depth of the team’s roster.
He returned to winning at the Tour of Austria in July, taking stage four in Steyr ahead of Kevin Vermaerke and Andrew August. It was a particularly Bagioli-style victory, coming at the end of a demanding stage where the Italian had enough durability to remain with the strongest riders before using his speed to finish the job.
There have been signs of his best form at WorldTour level as well.
Bagioli finished third behind Tadej Pogačar and Richard Carapaz on the opening stage of the Tour de Suisse, putting himself into an unexpectedly strong early general classification position. His performance was significant enough that ProCyclingUK assessed his prospects of defending that position ahead of the race’s individual time-trial.
He also finished fifth at the Grand Prix Miguel Indurain earlier in the season.
Those results underline the attraction for XDS Astana. Bagioli is not confined to one narrow type of finish. He can attack, survive substantial climbing, contest reduced sprints and operate as either a leader or an important tactical option when a team wants several riders involved late in a race.
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More opportunities could unlock Bagioli again
The move could be particularly important for Bagioli because his role at Lidl-Trek has become increasingly difficult to define.
The American-registered team possesses one of the deepest rosters in professional cycling. Mattias Skjelmose, Mads Pedersen, Giulio Ciccone, Thibau Nys, Juan Ayuso, Quinn Simmons and others compete for leadership across many of the races where Bagioli’s characteristics would otherwise make him an obvious protected rider.
He has consequently spent significant periods working for teammates as well as chasing his own results.
That versatility has value, but moving to XDS Astana should give Bagioli more opportunities to enter hilly Classics and difficult one-day races with his own result as part of the team’s primary plan.
The Italian already knows several members of his future team and expects that familiarity to make the transition easier.
“I know many of my future teammates well, and I have always heard very positive things from them,” he said.
“I think I will be able to quickly integrate into the team and show what I can do over these two seasons.”
His experience extends beyond the Classics. Bagioli has ridden all three Grand Tours during his career and has repeatedly been used in support roles across three-week races, another part of his profile that attracted XDS Astana.
“In addition, he has extensive experience racing Grand Tours, which is always an important factor for us,” Vinokurov said.
Bagioli wants to race for victories again
For Bagioli, the objective of the move is straightforward.
“My main goal is to fight for victory whenever the opportunity arises, while also helping the team achieve its important objectives,” he said.
At 27, there is still time for Bagioli to turn the flashes of form that have characterised much of his career into a more consistent run of major results.
Second at Il Lombardia showed the level he can reach. His 2026 results suggest that ability has not disappeared. XDS Astana’s task will be to give him enough opportunities and responsibility to reproduce it more regularly.
Bagioli’s move is the latest confirmed deal in ProCyclingUK’s men’s cycling transfers hub, which is tracking the signings, extensions, departures and retirements shaping the 2027 professional peloton.
