Astana transfer passing early tests in Spain
Jakob Fuglsang made the transfer to Astana in the offseason, after two underwhelming years with the Radioshack outfit. The Dane could even be granted leadership in the team for the Tour de France, as Astana’s other high-profile transfer, Vincenzo Nibali, has made his main target the Giro d’Italia.
Fuglsang has gotten off to a strong start racing in Spain, and now hopes to prove that he is worthy of the team’s full trust by taking a top ten spot in Paris-Nice. Fuglsang should be set to lead his squad there, with hill-climbing support from Kevin Seeldraeyers and Egor Silin.
But indicating comfort within his new squad, Fuglsang outlined his hopes without putting too many expectations on himself.
“There is no pressure to produce results. The situation is that it would be great to get a top ten spot in Paris-Nice, but if it does not happen, then that result will probably come later,” Fuglsang explained to Sporten.dk. “But on a personal note, I would love to prove to the other riders on the team that if they give me confidence by working for me, I will deliver something.
“We’ll see how the condition is in Paris-Nice. The competition is harder, and there will be many more who are in good shape, but I will also be stronger in a few weeks.”
Early signs from Fuglsang have been positive. Beginning with the Vuelta a Andalucia-Ruta del Sol, the Dane was 14th in the opening time trial. He followed that up with top ten placings in all three road stages, which earned him a sixth place overall, 19 seconds behind winner Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).
Fuglsang followed most of the peloton in Spain to the hilly Vuelta a Murcia on Saturday, where he took eighth, followed by a 77th spot in the sprinter’s Clasica de Almeria.
“I went to get a result out of it, and I am satisfied,” Fuglsang said of his Andalucia ride. “We rode as a team and worked well together. We rode for me, but we also had a day where we tried to ride for Simone Ponzi and get a stage win. We didn’t get a win or a podium place, but I think what we got from the race is definitely positive because many of our competitors had already been racing.”
Fuglsang said that he was pleased with the team setup at Astana, and anyone believing they could not ride as a team would be wrong.
“If anyone thinks that Astana would be a bunch of egoists, it was certainly denied in the Ruta del Sol,” Fuglsang added. “In fact, it was only us and Movistar that really took the lead and tried to create the race. And they really did a good job for me, so I am simply thrilled.”