Looking at 2009 with Fuglsang

Team Saxo Bank rider, Jakob Fuglsang was recently voted Danish Rider of the Year by Danish TV2 and the website www.feltet.dk. A price that makes an impact on the strong mountain rider:

“It is a recognition of me as a rider and it’s valuable to me that people notice the good results I’m doing. It is particularly important when there are so many other great talented riders in Denmark such as Matti Breschel who really took some huge wins this season. It gives me moral. In my generation of riders there’s a huge potential and we could almost build a competitive Tour de France line-up if we were on the same team”, says the Danish rider who is currently on training camp in Playitas on Fuerteventura.

The title is well-deserved. By winning Tour of Denmark, Tour de Slovenie as well as several excellent results in both the Dauphiné Libéré and the Vuelta a Espana make Jakob Fuglsang a rider to be reckoned with in the absolute top. He has been doing unique performances that each has a special significance for the 24-year-old Team Saxo Bank-rider:

“There is nothing more satisfying than to fulfill the goals you have set for yourself. I had worked hard and been focused to make a great appearance in the Dauphiné Libéré, and it was a bold and almost surreal experience to be out there with Cadel Evans and Alberto Contador on the Mont Ventoux where I was even able to put pressure on them both in their own terrain. Evans contacted me afterwards and would make an alliance with me in which I agreed, if the conditions were right. When I attacked the following day he was not to be seen”.

Shortly after the French stage race, which is used as warm-up for several tour riders, he participated in the Slovenian, the Tour de Slovenie where he from stage one took matters into his own hands:

“The stage I won was 240 kilometers with several mountains along the way. I went in a break pretty early and on the last 40 kilometers I was on my own in the front. The feeling when you are alone and you know that victory is within reach is unique. That victory means a lot to me”.

After a longer break from racing, the Team Saxo Bank-rider was on the road again and arrived at Tour of Denmark after finishing Sachsen Tour and a Danish criterium:

“The idea was to have to use Tour of Denmark as part of the preparation for the Vuelta. On the first stage I was in a break which unfortunately was denied by the sprinters. I was still feeling a bit weak from Sachsen Tour but as the race progressed I was feeling regenerated and when the field entered Frederiksberg on the last stage and I was in the leader’s jersey, I noticed chills spread all over my body. To win on home ground with the audience’s support in kind of caliber was a unique experience for me. But the biggest victory to date is still to win the mountain bike U23 World Cup in 2007. I had been working really hard to get so far and the satisfaction being at the top of the podium was indescribable”.

There is a long way from sunny podiums and standing ovations to November rain mayhem in Silkeborg with his parents. It is good with a small break, but Jacob would like to get started:

“I am often home on visits but I am glad to be able to train around Lake Garda, starting from my apartment in Bardolino. Here is a less amount of rain and I almost never have flat down here throughout the winter. Training takes place without scheduling. I use sports director Kim Andersen as an advisor and we are doing the evaluation of training over the phone”.

As a professional cyclist training is mandatory regardless of wind and weather and living in Denmark the whole year may be a harder load and the motivation could disappear. For the Danish rider training is not only an obligation though:

“I love cycling. That is why I do it. To ride out and enjoy the terrain and the prospect of mountain peaks is an important part of training. Even on rest days I am often riding longer than scheduled, because I just want to get up on top of a mountain and enjoy the scenery. I could not imagine ever stopping training. It is not always with my good will that I am taking a break like now, but it is necessary to restore that particular hunger it takes to be at the very front of the races”.

Preparations for the 2010 season have started and after an impressive season with victories and impressive stage placements in the Vuelta, Jakob Fuglsang hopes for an opportunity to join the Team Saxo Bank Tour de France line-up:

“Bjarne and I have had a small talk about my chances of doing the Ardennes Classics and the Tour de France. But there are things to be improved in order to be in that special line-up”.

On one of the world’s best cycling teams being in the line-up for the greatest cycling event of the world is intense. Having to select the nine riders is often a luxury problem for team owner Bjarne Riis and sports director Kim Andersen and usually there must be room for both young and experienced riders:

“Riders who Stuart and Jens are indispensable. They have so much experience and routine to give and they are an inspiration to the entire team. Such riders are hard to miss. Team Saxo Bank is a great place to be because of the positive atmosphere within the team. All riders are allowed to have an opinion and nobody is excluded which are some of the reasons why I want to stay here”, concludes Jakob Fuglsang.

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