We saw him working tirelessly in Malaysia, and in Japan he found his opportunities and claimed some satisfying results; Alessio Delle Vedove's final races of 2026 have been nothing short of spectacular. It must be said, there aren't the major spotlights of European races with full live coverage showing every pedal stroke, but in Asia the twenty-two-year-old from the XDS Astana development squad has worked hard, demonstrating the grit and dedication of a true veteran. Just days ago, with the Tour de Kyusho, he put a full stop to his 2026 with a pretty impressive haul: best young rider, third in the opening stage and fourth overall—a small treasure that sends him into his vacation break with a smile on his face.

"I came to Japan straight from Malaysia without too many expectations, but the team gave me a free hand and I made the most of it. In the first stage I was supposed to work for Malucelli, but I also got into a breakaway and spent 80 kilometers on the attack. It was a good group but too dangerous, so we got caught. Then I settled into working for the team, but I was feeling so good that I even tried to launch myself in the sprint. I have some regrets about the second stage—I went over all the climbs with the best riders, something that had never happened to me before, but 200 meters from the finish my chain dropped and I was done for. If I'd crossed the line even one position higher, I would have finished third overall. Still, I'm satisfied with this end to the season because I've shown I can compete on different terrain," Alessio tells us. In Japan we saw him sprinting, attacking, and also playing his cards in the mountains. Delle Vedove had just come off eight days of absolutely scorching racing at the Tour de Langkawi. Extreme temperatures and entire stages spent pulling at the front of the group; whether it was the sweltering heat of Malaysia or the evolution of the Po Valley in August—as he described it—we sought to get to know the twenty-year-old athlete from the Kazakh team better.

What strikes us immediately about Alessio is his desire to work, to give everything for his more experienced teammates, and to seize every opportunity placed before him. In 2025 he joined the XDS Astana development squad after two years in the Wanty academy. If the initial idea was to become a sprinter, over time he's developed into a climber and become an excellent domestique. Hard work, dedication, and finally a return to victory at the Gran Premio Industrie del Marmo gave him the push to believe in his own abilities. "The Astana team has made me a better rider, helped me find my weight and my dimension. I've improved in the sprint and especially in the mountains, where I used to struggle. I tried to learn a bit from everyone, and it was crucial to race with the pros—there are different rhythms and distances, but most importantly you gain experience and have the chance to pedal alongside real champions. After so much work, victory finally came. I hadn't won in two years, and it meant a lot to me because it made me believe in my abilities again," Alessio continues. He's gathered experience from racing with professionals and used it to his advantage to be ready in category races. In Malaysia, during the flat stages, he was absolutely the most focused athlete, always at the front of the group for one hundred, two hundred kilometers with a single objective: to win the sprint with Matteo Malucelli. "In those situations you just have to use your head and always believe," Alessio tells us when we ask him the secret behind his lead-outs that impressed everyone and earned repeated compliments from his captain.

As a junior, he was very strong on the track; his future as a sprinter seemed assured, but over time Alessio's body and mind have changed. He's matured in every way, realizing that perhaps there are many things he could become. "I don't think I've completed my formation as an athlete yet. I started as a sprinter, now I can hold my own well in the mountains, and in Malaysia I discovered I'm also a great 'engine'—I have good power for extended periods. I can't call myself a complete rider, but I could become a sprinter who climbs well. My dream is to become a classics rider. Some athletes don't like racing in Belgium, but when they tell me to go there I jump for joy. I love brutal races—they give me something special, and up north there's an atmosphere on the roads that's unique: there are so many people trying to cheer you on and everyone cares deeply about doing well. I would have liked to learn Flemish, but then I changed teams." The classics occupy an important place in his heart, thanks to two years at Wanty Reuz Technord where every northern race was prepared religiously and meticulously. Having raced them, even in the U23 category, is a memory he holds dear. Over the last two years the program has been different, but the goal is to return, perhaps in the future while racing as a professional.

Alessio works hard and dreams big. He'd like to participate in the races of stones and walls, to take part in those where you suffer and are pushed to your limit, but most importantly where he has so much fun. The possibility of becoming a classics rider is something he's building piece by piece with hard work. But there's one gigantic dream that surpasses all the others: to finally become a professional athlete.