Jakob Fuglsang has been part of the Astana team for four years but, remarkably, the Danish stage race rider is yet to win a race in the sky blue colours of the Kazakhstan team. He hopes that will change in 2017 after being named as Astana’s designated leader for the Tour de France.
In 2013 Fuglsang finished seventh in the Tour de France but has since slipped into a non-protagonist role at Astana, riding for Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru as the Italians proved to be more ambitious and more successful in Grand Tours.
He has patiently waited his turn and his Grand Tour stars have aligned for 2017. Nibali has moved on to Bahrain-Merida, while Aru stumbled and suffered at the Tour de France, suggesting he is not the phenomenon that his victory at the Vuelta a Espana indicated. Due to a cut in budget, Astana have failed to sign a true replacement for Nibali and so Fuglsang, boosted by his silver medal in the road race at the Rio Olympics, has been offered a second chance. He is also in the final year of his contract and so has that extra push to do well and secure his next deal.
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Fuglsang was invited to the Astana top table for last week’s formal announcement of the team’s 2017 goals by team manager Alexander Vinokourov. Fabio Aru will have the task of beating former team leader Vincenzo Nibali at the 100th Giro d’Italia, while Fuglsang is officially the team leader at the Tour de France. He is not expected to win the yellow jersey but he does not want to miss out on his second big chance in the sport's biggest race.
“For me it's super nice that I can get another chance to ride as a leader. I think I’m more mature and more ready to accept the responsibility,” he tells Cyclingnews in an exclusive interview, admitting that he is too much of a nice guy in a cutthroat world of Grand Tour ambition.
“It’s not a problem for me to work for another team leader but I really want to go for it and really find my limits this time. I don’t think I have found my limits yet. I still believe I can do better than I’ve done so far, that I’ve got more in me.”
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