Astana’s Fuglsang headlines strong team at the Ardennes Classics
Winner of La Doyenne in 2019 Fuglsang heads to Belgium and the Netherlands aiming to repeat his success of 2019 when he stood on the podium at all three races.
«As everyone knows, the Ardennes Classics are one of my season highlights this year and also some of my favourite races. Obviously, I only have good memories of the Ardennes Classics, where I was able to win my first Monument. The profile of the three one-day races suits me, and in particular, this year’s Amstel Gold Race route looks good to me. I am where I need to be with my shape. Last week’s Itzulia Basque Country was the final preparation towards the upcoming races, where we also got our first two victories, which was a moral boost and gave us all confidence,» says Fuglsang.
«We are coming to Belgium and the Netherlands with a strong line-up, so I am happy to have such an ambitious team next to me. It would be amazing to repeat 2019 and stand on the top step of the podium. I will definitely give my best to do so, especially to pay back all the sacrifices my family has made for me over the last few months,» adds Jakob.
The opener of the Ardennes Classics, Amstel Gold Race, will take place on a circuit around Valkenburg due to the current Covid-19 restrictions but with the same finish in Berg en Terblijt after 216 demanding kilometres. Two days later, the team will travel to Belgium for La Flèche Wallonne. The 192-kilometre-long challenging route will take the riders from Charleroi to the famous Mur de Huy, where another battle of the best is expected. The big showdown of the Ardennes Classics will, as always, be the oldest one-day race on the UCI WorldTour calendar Liège – Bastogne – Liège. The battle for the third Monument of the season will play out over 260km with eleven punchy climbs, including the iconic La Redoute.
The Kazakh-Canadian team will line-up with a mix of young and experienced riders for all three races.
«The team is in good condition ahead of the races. Most of the riders used last week’s race Itzulia Basque Country as their final preparation and of course the victories gave us all confidence. For the Ardennes Classics, I think we have a strong and well-balanced team, who are motivated to give everything and to achieve great results. We have good memories of those three races over the last years and hope to repeat our success of 2019,» says Dmitriy Fofonov, Team Performance Manager.