Dane in form ahead of Giro dell'Emilia and the Giro di Lombardia
Jakob Fuglsang (Saxo Bank) (Image credit: ispaphoto.com)
After an excellent second place in yesterday’s Binche-Tournai-Binche/Memorial Frank Vandenbroucke race in Belgium, Jakob Fuglsang (Saxo Bank) will head to Italy to close out his season with a number of one-day races.
The Dane will join up with team captain Andy Schleck and compete in the Giro dell'Emilia and GP Beghelli before racing in the final Classics of the season, the Giro di Lombardia.
“The form is pretty good,” he told Cyclingnews as he made his way to Italy with Schleck.
“I had some good races in Belgium last week so the legs are in good condition. These are some of the races I want to do well in, especially Emilia and Lombardia. I’m motivated and these are some of my big goals for the year. I’m looking forward to them.”
After his debut Tour de France, Fuglsang took a break from racing but looks back fondly on his race this July. Marked as potential candidate for future yellow jerseys, the Dane took this year as a learning experience while also acting as one of Schleck’s bodyguards in the mountains.
“I learnt a lot form the Tour,” he said. “It was a big experience and a good one. Andy did really well so none of us can really complain and it was great to be part of. I would have liked to have been a little bit stronger, even if it would not have changed anything overall for Andy or in general.
“I had a good Tour de Suisse before, and maybe that took the top level of my strength away. For coming years I’ll know more about my body and how to prepare, whether that’s for the Tour, Giro or Vuelta.”
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While Lombardy will see Fuglsang end his season it will also be the start of a new chapter in his professional career as he brings the curtain down on his commitment to Saxo Bank. The Dane is confirmed as leaving Bjarne Riis’s team and is expected to join up with the Schleck brothers for now.
However, once he crosses the line in Lombardia, Fuglsang’s immediate priority will turn to rest and relaxation.
“I’m going to take a long break. I’ll go with Fränk and Andy to Curacao for another two races. It’ll be warm there and I’ll be able to take holiday too but after that I’ll take four to five weeks off the bike. Training will start again in the middle of November.
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
