Astana Qazaqstan announced the signing of 20-year-old Santiago Umba on Thursday. The Colombian had a four-year contract with Gianni Savio, first with Androni Giocattoli and Drone Hopper, then to the GW Shimano team after the Italian ProTeam ended.
Savio has a history of discovering talents in South America, having brought Egan Bernal and Ivan Sosa to the attention of the WorldTour.
Umba scored some fine results in 2021, including a podium in the Tour de Savoie Mont Blanc and a stage win on La Planche des Belles Filles in the Tour Alsace, but since has not been able to continue his progression due to injuries.
However, Astana are in need of future talents, having lost stalwart Luis Léon Sánchez to retirement, Gianni Moscon to Soudal-Quickstep and Fabio Felline to Lidl-Trek.
Umba will join burgeoning talents like Henok Mulubrhan, who signed from Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè, along with more experienced acquisitions Max Kanter, Michael Mørkøv, Davide Ballerini and Ide Schelling.
"I am incredibly happy to sign my first contract with the WorldTour team and to become a part of such a big project as Astana Qazaqstan Team. I would like to thank all the team management for this opportunity, the trust that was placed in me. I am sure that Astana is the ideal team for me, and I think that I will be able to make a great progress here. I am ready to work hard, I am ready to gain experience at the highest level in order to become a true professional," Umba said in a team press release.
Manager Alexandr Vinokourov looked to Umba's experience racing in Europe as evidence of his promise in the WorldTour.
"We see a great potential in Santiago, that can be revealed in our team. Despite such a young age, Santiago has already ridden many important professional races, gained serious experience, which can serve as a basis for his further development. He has a number of high results at the youth level, he already knows what professional racing is, so all he needs is careful and systematic work that will allow him to reach a good level in the WorldTour," Vinokourov said.
