Yuriy Natarov and Yevgeniy Gidich renew with Astana Qazaqstan Team
Two Kazakh riders Yuriy Natarov and Yevgeniy Gidich have signed a new two-year agreement with Team Astana (Astana Qazaqstan Team from 2022) for the next two seasons of 2022 and 2023.
Yuriy Natarov joined Kazakh team in 2019, when he took his first and so far only professional victory, winning the General Classification of the Tour of Almaty. In 2021, Yuriy finished his first Grand Tour and won a bronze medal in the individual time trial of the Kazakhstan National Championships.
“The new contract with the team gives me great motivation and a desire for further growth and progress. This season I managed to make my debut in a Grand Tour, at La Vuelta, and this experience turned out to be very valuable and perfectly timed for me. Participation in the Vuelta a España inspired me, so I am sure that in the next two seasons in Astana Qazaqstan Team I will be able to make a serious step ahead. There is a huge amount of work to be done, but I am ready for it”, – said Yuriy Natarov.
Yevgeniy Gidich moved to the Astana project in 2018 and during his first three seasons, Gidich scored a set of valuable results: he was third in the General Classification of Tour of Croatia in 2018, taking a stage win in the following year, he won the road race of the Asian Road Championships-2019, was seventh at Coppa Bernocchi in 2019, and finished third at a stage of Saudi Tour in 2020.
Yevgeniy’s best result in the current season was second place in the Kazakhstan National Championships road race.
“This last season has turned out to be far from what I expected. However, this year I have become stronger and more experienced, so I am optimistic about the new season in Astana Qazaqstan Team. I am determined to do everything possible to reach the level that will allow me to take an important step forward in my career. I am grateful to the team for their trust, and I will make every effort to justify it”, – said Yevgeniy Gidich.
“In these past years in the WorldTour, the riders gained good experience and learned a lot. Not everything always went smoothly and the situation with the pandemic also intervened, but we still recognize the progress of both Yuriy and Yevgeniy. Both riders have reached the age when experience and solid work should turn into a result. We hope that a new two-year contract will give them the chance to move ahead. I am happy that the guys remain in the team, where they will have all the conditions to achieve success, both for the team and personally”, – said Alexandr Vinokurov, General Manager of Astana Qazaqstan Team.
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