Regarded as one of the biggest Danish talents, former world Under 23 mountain bike champion Jakob Fuglsang is building up to what will be his first Tour de France. The Saxo Bank rider was a solid tenth in yesterday’s prologue in the Tour de Suisse, clocking a time thirteen seconds off that posted by his victorious team-mate Fabian Cancellara.
He’ll aim to keep riding strongly in the days ahead, using his strong climbing ability to target a final finishing position in the top ten – or perhaps even the top five – in the prestigious Swiss event.
Since deciding to focus on road racing, Fuglsang has had a strong past couple of seasons. In 2008 he won the Tour of Denmark, then defending that title last year. He also netted a stage win, a stage plus the overall victory in the Tour of Slovenia, and raced to top three finishes in the Giro dell’Emilia (where he was second) and on stages of the Vuelta a España.
His consistency is reflected in the fact that he was also sixth in the Volta a Catalunya and Dauphiné Libéré, as well as tenth in the Tour of Ireland.
As he told Velonation in recent days, 2010 has been a little frustrating for him due to injury. However the 25 year old says that his form is on the rise as the Tour approaches, and he is feeling motivated to try something in the Tour de Suisse. He spoke about these goals, his aims for the Tour de France, contract negotiations and the factors he is weighing up when it comes to deciding whether he will stay put or move to a different squad for 2011.
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VeloNation: First off, Jakob, are you happy with how your season has gone so far?
Jakob Fuglsang: No, not really, to be honest. I have not been as good as I have hoped for, mainly because I have had some knee problems in the beginning of the season. That set me back a lot.
I have not really been feeling super, but now I am feeling that it is going in the right direction. After I had a small break after the Classics, I have been pretty happy with my condition and the way it is coming now.
VN: What races have you felt good about?
JF: Pais Vasco was not bad for me. That was more or less the best I did. After that, I did the Ardennes Classics and took a break, then I started in California again. California went quite well…myself and Andy were in the breakaway on the hardest stage and we worked really hard there. I think we did pretty good.
In general I am pretty happy with how it has been going. It is just that from the beginning of the season, I was a little bit behind and that followed me the whole first part of the season.
VN: The Tour of California was pretty solid, with some aggressive riding and a final finish of 25th overall…
JF: Well, I went to California after a break…it makes it a bit harder when some of the other teams are very prepared for the race. But I think it was still a good race to get started again and I now I feel good.
Since California, have just been in a training camp in the Pyrenees to look at some of the Tour stages. Then I was home for a few days. In Luxembourg I was training with Andy, doing some motorpacing, and then we spent two days in the Alps before coming to Switzerland.
VN: Do you feel that your form is improving?
JF: Yes, I really feel that my body is responding well to the training and that the form is getting better and better.
VN: So what do you want to achieve in the Tour de Suisse?
JF: Well, my goal is to try and do well in the overall. I am not in top shape yet, as I want to save it for the Tour, but I still think I can do a reasonable performance. I think I am the only one from the team who wants to go for the overall. So if I could get top ten, or maybe even top five, that would be my goal for the overall. We have to see how the race develops, and see how I am compared to the rest of the guys.
JF: In a couple of weeks you will start your first Tour de France – what are your thoughts on that?
VN: I am really looking forward to it. It is going to be fun, it is going to be hard, but it is going to be a great experience. I am really looking forward to it.
VN: Will you go there to help the Schleck brothers, or will you also have a chance to try to go for a stage win?
JF: No, I don’t think I will go for a stage or anything. I will go there to help Frank and Andy. That is my own goal, to be there for them and to be able to help them as much as possible.
Talking to Andy, he said that he feels like he is in better shape now than he was at this time last year. If you look at how he did last year, then I don’t think you need to be worried. And also Frank has been strong all year – he is missing the results a little bit, but in Luxembourg he got a stage win and was second overall. I think he will be really strong…I think he will be stronger than last year in the Tour. There’s a chance that both of them could be on the podium.
VN: It is getting close to the time to sign new contracts. Do you have any idea what your plans will be?
JF: I am hoping to get everything done before the Tour. I am still talking to different teams and I am also waiting a little bit for Bjarne to see if he can find a sponsor. So nothing is really set yet, but I would really like to have it done before the Tour so I don’t have to worry about it any more.
VN: There are rumours that Bjarne Riis already has a sponsor lined up to take over from Saxo Bank. Do you think that he will have something in place before the Tour?
JF: I think so. That is also what I heard, and I heard from him that it is looking really promising. So hopefully he can find something before the Tour; that would be really good for him and also the whole team.
VN: You could end up extending your contract, or heading elsewhere. Are you happy with the atmosphere with the team, and to stay there if you get the right offer? Or is it the case that you feel you need to go to a different team to be able to fully chase your own goals?
JF: First of all, I am really happy being on this team. There is a really great atmosphere in the team and we have a really good friendship together. I don’t know how it is on other teams, but I don’t think it is like that on every other one. So that is of course one thing that I would like to keep. That is also one of the points I am considering when looking at other teams; I don’t want to just go to whatever team that pays me the most.
I also want to be on a team where I think I will be happy, where I will have some good friends. I think that is important for when you travel that much and you are on the road the whole time. The team-mates are those that you have to spend most of your time with.
So for me it is important that I am around some guys that I get along with.
But second of all, for me it is not that important that I can be the captain for the Tour next year. I could wait one or two years, but of course one day I would like to give it a try myself and see if the Tour is going to be my goal in the future.
Also now you can see that here, even with Fabian, Frank and Andy, they might even be helping me in the Tour de Suisse. It is not that I don’t get to go for my own races…it might be some other races [than the Tour], but I still get my own chance. Really, I cannot complain.