Davide Toneatti will remain with XDS Astana Team until the end of 2028 after agreeing a new two-year contract, extending a relationship with the Kazakh WorldTour organisation that began in its development squad in 2022.
The 25-year-old Italian stepped up to the WorldTour at the beginning of 2025 after three seasons with the Astana development team. His first year at the highest level was affected by health problems, but a more consistent 2026 campaign has persuaded the team to give him another two years to develop.
Although Toneatti has yet to win a race at WorldTour level, his performances this season have provided evidence that the rider who impressed on the under-23 and Continental circuits can also compete in selective races against established professionals.
Two more years after a stronger 2026 season
Toneatti’s best one-day result this year came at the Muur Classic Geraardsbergen, where he finished fourth on a course suited to riders capable of managing repeated climbs and changes of pace. He also finished 12th overall at the Baloise Belgium Tour, another encouraging result in a field combining strong rouleurs, classics specialists and stage-race riders.
At the Tour de Romandie, he took seventh on a stage, adding a useful result in WorldTour competition. Those performances stand out because the first year of his professional contract did not go as expected, with illness and health issues restricting his ability to race consistently.
In comments issued with the contract announcement, Toneatti said the team’s support through that difficult period had mattered. He explained that 2026 had gone much more to plan, giving him the opportunity to demonstrate his qualities, and thanked general manager Alexandr Vinokurov and the organisation for maintaining their confidence in him.
The extension is therefore more than a routine roster decision. XDS Astana are backing a rider whose progress was interrupted before he had much chance to establish himself, rather than judging him solely on the results of his first WorldTour season.
From the development team to the WorldTour
Born in Tolmezzo in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Toneatti joined the Astana Qazaqstan Development Team in 2022 and spent three years building his experience across smaller international stage races and one-day events.
The most productive part of that spell came in 2024. Toneatti won the overall classification at the Tour of Romania, the Turul României, having already taken a stage victory at Belgrade–Banjaluka earlier in the year. He also finished second overall in the latter race and recorded fourth place at the Tour of Rhodes.
His development results showed a rider capable of handling several consecutive racing days, climbing well enough to stay involved in selective groups and converting an opportunity into an overall victory. Promotion to the WorldTour in 2025 was a logical next step within a team that has increasingly used its development structure to prepare younger riders for professional contracts.
That step has not been straightforward, and Toneatti is still learning how to reproduce his best performances against stronger opposition across a longer calendar. The latest agreement gives him until the end of 2028 to establish the consistency that was missing during his first season.
Vinokurov backs Toneatti’s further development
Vinokurov described the Italian as a talented young rider whose opening WorldTour season had been disrupted by circumstances outside his control. He said Toneatti’s improvement in 2026 had shown his potential, while stressing that the next two seasons would still require hard work if he is to make a further step.
For XDS Astana, there is value in keeping a rider who has already spent five seasons learning the organisation’s racing methods, staff and expectations. Toneatti can provide support in stage races and hilly one-day events, while also being given selected opportunities to compete for his own result.
His renewal follows other contract decisions as XDS Astana construct their 2027 and 2028 squads. The team have also extended Nicola Conci’s agreement through 2027 and secured Yevgeniy Fedorov until 2028, retaining riders already familiar with the team’s programme alongside new signings.
Toneatti’s immediate task will be to turn a promising set of 2026 performances into more frequent results. His fourth place in Geraardsbergen and overall finish at the Belgium Tour give him a platform, and the new contract means he can approach 2027 without the uncertainty of another expiring deal.
