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It was an off-season of change for Astana Qazaqstan. A new title sponsor in the shape of Chinese composites outfit XDS changes the team’s name to XDS-Astana for 2025. With the fresh sponsorship from XDS came a new fleet of bikes from a brand new to the WorldTour and relatively unknown in performance cycling. Operating under the umbrella of XDS is the brand’s premium bike division X-Lab, based in Shenzhen, China.
For those new to the brand, XDS operates in a similar way to Specialized in how it separates its standard range from its top-of-the-range models. Much like Specialized has its S-Works range that sits above the regular Specialized branded models, XDS has the X-Lab range that signifies the brand’s top-tier models.
This new partnership for 2025 moves the team away from the Wilier bikes that it has been riding since the beginning of the 2020 season. The deal with XDS is reported to last at least five years with the potential to extend, which will give us plenty of time to become acquainted with the brand.
There are two models available to the XDS-Astana team, the RS9 lightweight climbers’ bike and the AD9 that we managed to get up close and personal with ahead of this year’s Tour Down Under. The bike in question belongs to 34-year-old New Zealander Aaron Gate, who is stepping up into the WorldTour for 2025 after two seasons at ProTour level with the now-defunct Bolton Equities-Black Spoke team and more recently Burgos-BH.
In 2024 Gates took the Oceania Continental Championships title in the individual time trial along with the overall and the points classification at the Tour of Hainan. At 181 cm (5′ 11″) and 71 kg (156 lb), Gates is an all-rounder who will be on domestique duties over the six stages of the Tour Down Under aiming to support Astana’s newly signed leaders, Sergio Higuita and Alberto Bettiol.
Our very own Dave Rome has been on the ground snapping away at as many pro bikes as he can lay his hands on so keep your eyes out for more pro bike content just like this.
The AD9 has all the hallmarks of a modern aero race bike. XDS-Astana has the choice between this and the RS9 lightweight option.The deep head tube profile is something of a regular sight on modern race bikes, however it doesn’t appear to be as deep as other brands look to be going.From the front, the AD9 has a very clean profile, with the curves of the fork seamlessly transitioning into the hourglass silhouette of the head tube.Vision is one of the team’s equipment sponsors, providing both wheels and handlebars. Launched last year the Metron 5D-Evo one-piece bar and stem features a 10º forward sweep, which is said to open the chest and elbows for better breathing on the climbs.Gate has opted for a modestly inward-turned lever position.Not a spacer in sight. Gate has his stem slammed to the top tube to give him the most aggressive position possible. Given that Gate is 181cm (5’11”) it is surprising to see that he is riding a size small frame.At the base of the fork are some small aero tips that XDS calls its X-foil system – something reminiscent of the fork design found on Pinarello’s Dogma F and before that Scott’s second-generation Foil.The X-foil system aims to smooth air around the base of the fork legs to prevent this area of the bike from causing excessive turbulence. Shimano provide the team with its groupset and pedals, making XDS-Astana one of the 13 WorldTour teams to use the Japanese brand’s components.Even though the AD9 is undeniably an outright aero bike, Gate is running Shimano’s wider ratio 11-34 cassette. Shimano’s Dura-Ace R9200 brake calliper sits neatly inside the rear triangle with virtually no hose length exposed to the wind.Gate is also a member of the shorter crank club, running 165 mm crankarms. This is certainly a trend you are going to see more and more riders moving to this season.The AD9 currently isn’t for sale so information on the specifics of the bike is hard to come by, but from what we could see it looks as though XDS is using a T47 bottom bracket.Vision has been a sponsor of the team since the start of 2024, with this partnership set to continue in 2025. The Metron 60SL are unsurprisingly 60 mm deep and have a 32 mm external width matched to a 21 mm internal width.XDS-Astana is using Vittoria’s Corsa Pro tyre in a 28 mm width, now considered narrow inside the modern peloton.The Nago R4 is a favourite among Prologo-sponsored teams. Prologo did release a 3D-printed R4 last year, however Gate seems to be sticking with what he knows for 2025.Keeping the seat post in place is a two-bolt wedge clamp, once again a feature that the AD9 shares with Pinarello’s Dogma F. One thing that does look different between the two is that the Dogma’s clamp is concealed in the frame whereas the AD9’s looks to be an open unit.XDS-Astana has kept a broadly similar livery to the last few seasons. The bike retains the light blue ‘Azzurro’ hue as the base colour, with the addition of large areas of black. Beyond this are flourishes of red, green and yellow with some texturing coming in towards the back of the bike. It is certainly a very aesthetically pleasing design.The seat stays join the seat tube using a winged design that is becoming more popular across bike brands. Not only does this design allow for greater tyre clearance but it also allows for a slightly more aero profile to be used.As you would expect from any pro bike, the AD9 is fitted with carbon bottle cages. Tacx, a subsidiary of Garmin, provide the team with its Ciro cages with a glossy finish.
Aaron Gate X-Lab AD9 specs
Frame: XDS X-Lab AD9 size small
Wheels: Vision Metron 60SL 32mm external/21mm internal width
