Matteo Scalco, rider from the XDS Astana development team, fresh from the Tour de l'Avenir, has joined the WorldTour team after signing a two-year contract with XDS Astana Team for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.

Scalco, 22 years old, joined the Astana project this season, signing with the Continental team. This year Matteo has raced a series of events with the WorldTour squad, impressing positively, and has also achieved several notable results with the development team.

Among his successes are the overall victory and stage win at the Tour of Rhodes, the second place at the GP Palio del Recioto, the ninth place overall at the Tour de Provence, as well as eleventh place overall at both the Giro d'Italia Next Gen and the Tour de l'Avenir.

"I believe I can be satisfied with how this season is going. The main objective was to grow and gradually mature as a rider, making the most of my entire Under 23 period, and I think everything has gone very well. This year I had several opportunities to race with the WorldTour squad and the atmosphere I found there was fantastic, just like in a family. I am therefore extremely happy to begin my professional career with Team XDS Astana and I am grateful for the confidence they have shown me. I took my first steps in cycling watching Vincenzo Nibali's victories with Astana on TV, and now I am very motivated to prepare myself to represent the colors of this team in the WorldTour," said Matteo Scalco.

"We invited Matteo Scalco to join our Continental team with the WorldTour in mind, and this season he has proven he deserves this important step in his career. Of course, the most important thing for him now is to gain experience at the highest level. As for his abilities, his desire and his motivation, I don't believe he has any issues in these areas. He achieved good results when racing with the WorldTour team, so this young rider's transition to the WorldTour is more than justified," said Alexandr Vinokurov, General Manager of Team XDS Astana.