Neo-pros to watch out for in 2024: Nicolas Vinokourov - like father, like son?
Sebastian Lindner
· 20.01.2024
The name certainly played a certain role in the signing of the contract. Vinokourov - that means something in Kazakh cycling. If the family ties are right, then not much can go wrong. Nicolas Vinokourov turned professional with Team Astana Qazqastan for the 2024 season. His father Alexandre - Vuelta winner, Olympic champion and, since the summer, Gran Fondo World Champion in the 50cc category - promoted him from the Development Team to the World Tour squad as team manager.
Vinokourov was born in Nice and the family moved to Monaco when he was four. A twin brother, who not only has the same surname but also the same first name as his father, has accompanied him every step of the way ever since. Alexandre Junior has also embarked on the path to becoming a professional athlete, but will continue to ride in Astana's development team for at least another year. Both speak French better than their mother tongue and have a degree in business administration.
Vinokourov still without an international victory
Now the focus should be completely on cycling. Because the goals are big. "A few stage wins at the Tour de France and maybe a world championship title" are at the top of 21-year-old Nicolas Vinokourov's list, as he says. cyclingnews.com told in an interview. But there is still a long way to go.
Vinokourov has already been crowned Kazakh U23 champion twice at national level on the road in the junior category, which is not at all bad. Internationally, however, the scion of the former Telekom pro still has to wait for his first victory. However, he has already come close in the second half of the season. Like his father, Vinokourov has been at his strongest when things are going uphill. In the two Turkish continental tour races, the Tour of Van and the Tour of Istanbul, he finished on the podium on the undulating stages and was also able to maintain his podium positions in the overall standings. Elsewhere, however, there were no top 10 finishes.
Alongside Vinokourov, the name Beloki is also returning to the big stage
That didn't necessarily look any better in the pre-season either. So it takes a certain amount of imagination to see Vinokourov in a role that goes beyond mere support duties. After all, the trend of the last few months could speak in his favour. And ultimately, the father knows his son better than anyone else and would certainly not burn him out if he didn't see something in him. So it remains to be seen whether Nicolas Vinokourov can assert himself at World Tour level.
In addition to Vinokourov, another well-known name will be returning to the World Tour peloton in 2024. Markel Beloki, son of Joseba Beloki, who made it onto the Tour de France podium a total of three times, has signed a two-year contract with EF Education EasyPost. As an 18-year-old, Beloki is making the leap from the juniors to the top league of cycling. He is one of the national leaders in his age group, having become Spanish junior time trial champion in the summer and won national junior races. But even in this case, it remains to be seen whether the big name precedes the talent.
Nicolas Vinokourov
- was born on 7 July 2002
- holds a Kazakh passport
- is 1.84 m tall and weighs 65 kg
- has previously ridden for the Monaco Junior Team (2019 and 2020), UC Monaco (2021), Vino - Astana Motors (2021) and the Astana Qazaqstan Development Team (2022 and 2023)
- will ride for the Astana Qazaqstan World Tour team from 2024 and has signed until the end of 2025
As the reigning Kazakh U23 champion on the road
