Astana and Movistar make strong moves in the transfer market ahead of the spring classics

XDS Astana and Movistar have both added a big name to their 2027 rosters. The Kazakh team is proud to announce the arrival of Anthony Turgis, who is joining the WorldTour after spending several years with TotalEnergies. Movistar has poached Rune Herregodts from UAE Emirates-XRG, although this has not yet been made official.

Turgis, 32, is a well-known fast rider in the peloton and the winner of a Tour de France stage in 2024. For years, the Frenchman seemed poised to take the next step, but he remained loyal to TotalEnergies for years after joining the team in 2019. Now that the team is facing tough times and looking for sponsors, it seems that Turgis has chosen his moment.

Given his strengths, Turgis will bolster Astana’s core group of classics specialists, in addition to his knack for breaking away in stage races. He has already finished second in Milan-San Remo, fourth in the Tour of Flanders, and has also placed in the top 20 multiple times in Paris-Roubaix. He has signed a two-season contract with Astana, hoping to compete for top results.

"Astana is a serious project, with a great history and an international roster," Turgis said through his new team's channels. "This is a new challenge that will give me fresh motivation and new goals. This team works hard on the classics, and that’s important to me. I feel I can still improve, and at Astana I want to deliver results—in the spring and in other races."

Movistar also has reason to celebrate, as Herregodts is set to bolster the team’s classics lineup, according to Het Nieuwsblad. The Belgian champion rode for UAE for two seasons but was looking for a new challenge. The 28-year-old Herregodts is expected to sign a three-season contract with the Spanish team, where his compatriot Cian Uijtdebroeks also rides.

Herregodts recently stated that his time at UAE wasn’t quite what he had expected. “I learned a lot there; it was two great years. We’re parting ways with no hard feelings. At the same time, I have to say that we both felt that extending the contract wasn’t really an option. UAE and I weren’t the best match ever,” he said honestly.

With so many team leaders on the team, Herregodts had little opportunity to ride on his own. “It boils down to this: this season, the team expects me to ride at 85 percent of my best level all year long, so that I can easily step in here and there and maintain a consistent level without any real peaks.”