After three months as a stagiaire spent in service of the team, first helping Thomas Silva to assert himself at the Arctic Race of Norway and then Mak Kanter and Matteo Malucelli to secure victories respectively at the Gooikse Pijl and the Tour de Kyushu, for Nikiforos Arvanitou the well-deserved moment has arrived to become a professional, entering permanently into the roster of XDS Astana.

As the Kazakh team has communicated (pleasantly impressed by the contribution given by the Greek road champion from August 1st onwards), starting from January and through the end of 2028, the twenty-three-year-old Athenian will wear the light blue jersey of Alexandr Vinokurov's squad, thus realizing his dream of racing in the top world category.

"I am truly happy to enter fully into XDS Astana. We are talking about a team of great tradition that has achieved enormous success over these years. I was a fan of this team when I was a child and now entering the WorldTour with them is truly a dream come true for me" declared after signing the former Team United Shipping rider, a Hungarian Continental squad with which, in less than a year, he made a name for himself by securing as many as eight victories.

"This year I had the opportunity to participate in a training camp and race several events with the team as a stagiaire and I immediately felt, as they say, that I was in the right place. In every block of races I took part in, we managed to bring home victories and it was something unforgettable. I therefore cannot wait for the new season to begin, when I will have the opportunity to compete in important races, help the team achieve significant objectives and test myself" continued a beaming Arvanitou, who next year will start from the four top ten finishes he recorded with Astana in the final part of 2026.

"We had the opportunity to evaluate Nikiforos both in training and in racing during his stage and he made an excellent impression on us: we found a young and strong rider, always ready to help his teammates and give 100% to achieve the objective" explained the General Manager of the Kazakh representative Alexandr Vinokurov.

"It is clear that he has potential both as a domestique and as a last man, as well as a fast rider capable of achieving success on his own account. We have two years of hard work ahead of us with him, but we are convinced he has all the credentials to become an excellent professional cyclist".

His signing meanwhile brings to 26 the number of riders under contract for 2027 with XDS Astana, which therefore has four slots remaining to fill in the coming weeks to complete the roster for the next season.