The Kazakh team came to Italy with a mix of experienced riders and Grand Tour debutants
The 103rd Giro d`Italia will kick off with a 15km individual time trial in Sicily. The Kazakh team came to Italy with a mix of experienced riders and Grand Tour debutants to help leader Jakob Fuglsang reaching his main goal of the season, a spot on the podium in Milan, Kazinform reports.
As well as team leader Jakob Fuglsang, Mont Ventoux winner Aleksandr Vlasov, Tour de France stage winner Miguel Angel Lopez, Jonas Gregaard, Oscar Rodriquez, experienced rider Manuele Boaro, Fabio Felline and Colombian Rodrigo Contreras build the roster for the upcoming 21 stages, Kazinform has learnt from the club’s press service.
3.497km awaits the peloton in this year´s Corsa Rosa before arriving for the final time trial in Milano where the winner will be announced. Il Lombardia 2020 winner Jakob Fuglsang is looking forward to lining up at the second Grand Tour of the season, "I am happy to be here in Italy and to finally start this big loop. For everyone, this season isn’t that easy to handle, and we also had some last-minute changes in our line up but I am confident that we have a really strong team here. After Tirreno – Adriatico, which I took as preparation for the Giro, I spent some days at altitude and now after spending some time with my beloved family at home, I am ready for the next three weeks. It won´t be easy, as many strong riders are here and everyone will fight from day 1 for the best ranks on the overall. We will see how everything goes but, of course, I will use any chance to reach the best result possible here and I think with the help of my team, which is super strong here, it could be possible."
While Jakob Fuglsang will face his second Giro d`Italia participation, it will be the first participation for Aleksandr Vlasov, Jonas Gregaard, Oscar Rodriquez, and Rodrigo Contreras at the Corsa Rosa.
Third on the overall ranking in 2018 and Tour de France stage winner, Miguel Angel Lopez returns to racing after the Tour de France to help Jakob Fuglsang on the overall classification and he will also be free to hunt for stage wins. Aleksandr Vlasov will also get his chance to win the Maglia Bianca, as the best young rider. Nevertheless, the main goal of the team will be supporting Jakob Fuglsang to reach his main goal of the season, a spot on the podium of the overall ranking.
