“You would have thought it was a WorldTour team, honestly, that was my first impression,” Scottish rider Calum Johnston told Escape from a café mid-way through a training ride near his home in Pamplona, Spain.
He’s talking about the Chinese continental team, Li Ning Star, which he joined over the winter after four years in the professional ranks with Caja Rural-Seguros RGA.
Li Ning Star has been shaking trees on the Asian circuit over the past several seasons, signing a raft of ex-professional talent, winning prolifically, and emerging as the second-ranked continental team anywhere in the world.
The Chinese team has signed several former pros to bolster their squad and become a dominant force across much of the Asia Tour, and the team plans to start racing in Europe soon. Signings include Argentinian Eduardo Sepulveda, who also works as the team’s coach, Swiss star Simon Pellaud, former Bahrain Victorious rider Cameron Scott, and Danish sprinter Alexander Salby, who has claimed 15 UCI victories since joining the team in 2025. There are several solid Chinese riders too, including track ace Wentao Sun and former Chinese TT champion Xue Ming.
Dan Challis
All told, Li Ning has scored 19 victories in 2026, almost double the number of any other continental team and ranking them 5th in total victories out of all UCI men’s teams so far this season.
But this team isn’t just throwing money at riders to get quick results. Li Ning Star is a team with serious backing and an ambition to turn professional in the coming seasons. For now, it’s creating an environment that some riders have reported to be at least comparable to most European second-tier squads.
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