Astana leader Jakob Fuglsang heads into the Alps with his morale boosted by his seventh place overall, but wants to keep progressing in the general classification of the Tour de France. “I still think fifth place is possible There’s only 40 seconds between the guys in front of me, and they are all going to be fighting each other for those podium spots,” he said.
Of those in front of him, four are from the same team: Bauke Mollema and Laurens ten Dam are there for Belkin, sitting second and fifth overall, while Saxo Tinkoff riders Alberto Contador and Roman Kreuziger are third and fourth.
Fuglsang seems to suggest that the push for a top three place may see those teams eventually putting everything into one rider rather than both. “We are a small team as we only have six riders, but we have just one goal,” he said. “And we are working very hard to achieve it.”
The Danish rider has twice placed fiftieth overall in the Tour de France while riding for others, and was eleventh in last year’s Vuelta a España. Now 28, he’s showing good progression in his role as team leader. “This is the best Grand Tour of my career thus far. I am happy with how it has gone.”
Fuglsang finished seventh on Mont Ventoux but said that he rode within his limits and still felt strong at the top. He feels that he has more to give in the Alps, while his Astana team is convinced that some dramatic racing lies ahead.
“The real Tour de France is this week in the Alps,” it said. “If you look at the teams ahead of Jakob in the classification, it is a lot like the final scene in Reservoir Dogs, where everybody is standing pointing a pistol at somebody else’s head.
“When it all finishes on Saturday, we hope to be Mr Pink.”