Dane will support Andy Schleck at 2011 Tour de France
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Jakob Fuglsang on the move in the Giro dell'Emilia(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Jakob Fuglsang (Saxo Bank) ended up 11th after an aggressive ride.(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Jacob Fuglsang (Team Saxo Bank)(Image credit: Susi Goetze for www.cyclinginside.com)
Jakob Fuglsang has said that he is still not certain if he will lead the Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project team at next year’s Giro d’Italia. The Dane joins the squad from Saxo Bank for 2011.
Sporting director Luca Guercilena told La Gazzetta dello Sport yesterday that Fuglsang would lead a team that may also feature Fränk Schleck at the Italian race, but Fuglsang insisted that nothing has been formally decided yet.
Fuglsang was a valued lieutenant of the Schleck brothers in his time at Saxo Bank and he expects to fulfill a similar role next July in his new colours, acknowledging that helping Andy Schleck to Tour de France victory is the squad’s priority.
“I am riding for a new team, which makes the Tour de France even more important,” he said. “Andy has a good chance of winning, so it would be a shame if he does not get maximum support.”
Nonetheless, the Fuglsang’s final season with Saxo Bank was marked by a string of impressive results, including third place at the Tour de Suisse and fourth at the Tour of Lombardy, and the 25 year-old admits that his ambitions are growing accordingly.
“I don’t know what I’d rather do,” Fuglsang said. “Of course I want to be 100 per cent ready for the Tour de France and help Andy to win, but I would also like to test myself as a captain.”
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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
