Jakob Fuglsang just won the Classic Alpes-Maritimes race and this marks his first victory after joining Israel-Premier Tech. Fuglsang joined Israel-Premier Tech after leaving Team Astana last year, as this is his first official victory it only strengthens the relationship with his new team.
The final climb of Col de Valberg was indeed hard but his attack on the last 6km turned the tide of the race in his favor. Fuglsang got to share the podium with Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ).
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Sharing the podium with his teammate Jakob made Michael Woods proud and happy. He was finally confident about his friend’s abilities.
I don’t think we could have played it better. First and second, it’s really sweet.
Even though Israel-Premier Tech had their own plans for the race, they were thwarted by David Gaudu and his Groupama-FDJ teammates. They would not let all three riders from the same team share the podium that is why they pushed Gaudu to his absolute limits.
This one day race in southern region of France was a mix between flat and mountainous route. Many challenging ascents awaited the riders including La Colmiane (7.2% at 8km), Col de la Couillole (7.3% at 15.8), and Col de Valberg (7.4% at 12km).
The ascents were all but easy and the decimated the entire Peloton, but Groupama-FDJ still put in the whole work. Lenny Martinez’s phenomenal performance was certainly the talk of the day as he got promoted thanks to his expanding skill-set.
When the top ascent came only Israel-Premier Tech and Groupama-FDJ were dominating. Israel-Premier Tech had riders like Chris Froome leading the charge and displaying awesome skills while on the other hand, Martinez was joined by Gaudu, Thibaut Pinot, and Sebastian Reichenbach.
Even though the other riders and teams tried to box in Fuglsang, he still crossed the finish line bravely. When the others riders were at each other’s throats that is when Jakob made his move and that is when it was too late for the competition.
Jakob Fuglsang expressed his gratitude and what a relief it was to win after such a long while.
It’s been quite some time now. And the start of the season was a bit difficult so I’m super happy and relieved to be able to win the race today.
This was Jakob’s first real win since Il Lombardia in 2020. It means a lot to him personally and also for his career at Israel-Premier Tech.
Also Read: Mikel Landa Planning On Switching Grand Tour Agenda After Giro D’Italia
Featured Image Via YouTube/Cycling Pro Net
