For many Alexandr Vinokourov Jr. was the chosen one, not only because of his illustrious surname, but for the results he achieved in youth categories that suggested he would make a name for himself. Together with his twin brother Nicolas, he dominated national championships, their names became more than recurring in junior categories, and their transition to professional cycling was already seen as a new era of the Vinokourov dynasty ready to leave its mark. Alexandr had many dreams, but even more pressure, then at the end of 2025 he decided to call it quits, to get off the bike and start a new life still in cycling, but from the other side.

We were there at his last race on the bike, October 2025, Tour de Langkawi, right under the Petronas Towers Alexandr had decided to say goodbye to everyone and close a chapter of his life. There was certainly regret, after all it's never easy to hang up your bike especially when you're only 23 years old, but in that choice there was also certainty, the relief of having found his own path. For months his mind had been elsewhere, on what would come next, on a role in the team that was changing, from athlete to staff member with the goal of becoming a sports director. "After so much time I can say I feel good and have found my place. I stopped being an athlete, but cycling is still part of my days, I live everything differently, with different rhythms and stress. Being a rider, also because of the various accidents, had pushed me to the limit, at a certain point I was suffering both physically and mentally, I started asking myself if it was really worth it and I realized I had to change. In my family you breathe cycling, but it was only my choice. I know they would have all supported me, but I was afraid they would also ask me to reconsider" Alexandr tells us during a conversation, once again we find ourselves on the other side of the world and we must say it's quite strange not to see him on a bike. When we ask him to tell us something about his new life he's thrilled, he's started a new journey.

His seasons as an athlete were anything but simple, not only because of the weight of the name he carried with him, but especially because of misfortune that particularly in 2025 struck him hard. It was March when Alexandr collides with a car during a training session, the diagnosis speaks of a fractured femoral head, he undergoes emergency surgery and from that moment begins what he describes without mincing words as a real ordeal. "I had to face an extremely long period of inactivity, over 6 months, a long time without walking and cycling, it seemed endless. It was all terrible, stressful and especially painful. I had time to think a lot, about what I had done and where I was actually going, I wanted to return to racing out of respect for the team, but in my head there was already the idea that it would be the last time. I didn't know how my body would react, but I gave everything. At the end of the season I was struggling to walk, then in March 2026 they operated on me again, they cut the bone and put in a prosthesis that literally gave me a new life, I went back to cycling without pain, simply for passion and for fun."

Throughout his long rehabilitation the XDS Astana team was always by his side, the Kazakh team built around his father has always been his family. Not a gilded cage as some might think, but rather a real life gymnasium where first he learned to be an athlete and now Alexandr is learning to be a sports director. The team offered him a second life and he seized it with both hands, giving everything and never feeling like he had arrived. During the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai we saw him doing everything, giving advice to his riders, fixing bikes, even moving luggage and helping with passports. The masseurs and other staff described him as a guy who goes the extra mile, ready to help everyone and who never holds back, but especially with a smile. "Team Astana is a second family for me, everyone knows I'm the son of a great athlete, but no one has ever judged me for that. Here I learned not only to be an athlete, I grew as a person, when I needed them they were always there and this time too they didn't leave me behind. Becoming part of the staff was something natural, I know all the internal dynamics and it's like I've been doing this job my whole life. Even as a rider I always tried to do my part, I wanted to earn my place and I do the same now, I don't want favors, I want to learn as much as possible. I realize that often I do more than required compared to my duties, but I believe all this means gaining experience, I'm young and this is just the beginning" Alexandr continues, day after day trying to learn something new.

In this first year as a sports director he's working with the Devo team, a team he himself raced for and knows perfectly. He seems truly born for that role, he assists the riders in everything, advises them and knows exactly what they need because he's experienced it firsthand. Many are now curious about his journey, but Alexandr wants to take it slow, he's clear about what his role will be, but also that he has much to learn. The senior sports directors of the Team have been his teachers from the start, he's been alongside them in the team car since early 2026 and then at Tour of Provence came his baptism by fire. "It was a nervous race, but it was nice and fun. Being in the car I realized many things that both athletes and sports directors take for granted like the fact that it's easy to talk on the radio while driving, but less so when you're pedaling. When like me you've been in the group, you've raced, but especially you've crashed and suffered you understand how delicate the work of a sports director is, you can't push your athletes too hard, you can't put too much pressure on them, you have to give the right directions and advice knowing that no matter how things go they will always do their best. They can't do without it, it's part of being an athlete"

Throughout our entire conversation Alexandr never lost his smile, he told us about his new life with the joy of someone who can't wait to discover what comes next. Cycling has always been part of his life, like a mark placed right at the moment of birth, for some it could have been a burden but not for him who found a family and a home. Being a rider already seems like a distant memory, something fleeting that brought him to what he is today, one of the youngest sports directors in the group who has a burning desire to go far.