XDS-Astana's fears of relegation have largely been allayed by this point, but the team is still intent on padding its tally by sending high-ranking riders to smaller events, most recently at the 2.Pro-ranked Tour of Magnificent Qinghai.

The Chinese stage race was won overall by African continental champion Henok Mulubrhan, the first to do so twice in 24 editions of the event. With teammate Harold Martín López finishing third and Aaron Gate netting a handful of top-five results on top of Mulubrhan's own stage win, XDS-Astana took in excess of 400 UCI points home from China, which will only help their ranking.

If they keep pursuing the same tactics, their position – currently 17th; the top 18 teams will earn WorldTour ranking – looks more like climbing over Intermarché-Wanty than swapping with Picnic-PostNL at the bottom of the table.