Twenty-three-year-old Greek cyclist Nikiforos Arvanitou has joined UCI WorldTeam XDS Astana as a stagiaire. During his internship period, Arvanitou will compete in several races with the team, starting with the Arctic Race of Norway. His racing calendar also includes various one-day races in Belgium in September and the Tour of Kyushu in October.

Nikiforos Arvanitou is the reigning Greek national road cycling champion. Among his most important achievements are the overall victory at the Tour of Bulgaria (2025), victories at the Grand Prix of Rhodes (2026) and the Grand Prix of Poland, the Visegrad 4 Bicycle Race (2026). In the 2026 season, Arvanitou has already secured six victories.

"Joining Team XDS Astana, even just as a stagiaire for now, is a dream come true. It's one of the best teams in the world, with an extraordinary history and exceptional riders, so becoming part of this project is something truly special. Together with the team I will race several stage races and one-day events, and for me this is a great opportunity to test myself at a completely new level. I hope to learn a lot during these months, to get to know my new teammates better, and hopefully to achieve excellent results," said Nikiforos Arvanitou.

"Having a development team gives us the opportunity to closely follow talented young riders throughout the season. This applies both to Kazakh riders and athletes from other countries. At the same time, bringing in new riders as stagiaires for the final part of the season is also a very effective tool. That's why we invited Nikiforos Arvanitou this year. We've been keeping an eye on him for some time, he has already achieved notable results, and now we want to see what he can do with our team," said Alexandr Vinokurov.