Jakob Fuglsang

At 39 years old, Jakob Fuglsang has this physical status:

Jakob Diemer Fuglsang (born 22 March 1985) is a Swiss-born Danish professional road cycling cyclist who now rides for UCI WorldTeam Astana.

He competed for Team Cannondale–Vredestein, winning the Under-23 World Cup and Under-23 World Championships before turning professional for Team Saxo Bank.

As his best result at a Grand Tour, Fuglsang has finished 7th overall at the Tour de France.

His best performances in the 2019 Liège-Bastogne-Liège and overall champions in both the Critérium du Dauphiné and 2019 editions, in the latter of which he has won two stages.

He has also won numerous other stage races during his career, including Danmark Rundt 3 times in a row from 2008-2010, Tour de Luxembourg and Tour of Austria in 2012, and Tour of Slovenia in 2009.

Personal life

Jakob Fuglsang and his partner Loulou, whom he married in 2015, live in Monaco. Jamie Lou, the couple's daughter, was born in June 2017. Jakob and Loulou lived in Luxembourg, where Fuglsang trained together with Andy Schleck and Fränk Schleck before heading to Monaco. Loulou's wife sacrificed her own modelling career in order to assist Fuglsang in his sporting career.

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Career

Fuglsang rode his first year as a professional mountain biker for Cannondale-Vredestein in 2006. Fuglsang moved to Italy in 2007 to concentrate on riding his bike. Fuglsang had no friends in the area and had no visits from his family during his stay. Despite being alone, it helped him to concentrate on his mountain bike work. In September, the Under-23 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships would be the biggest event of his 2007 season. Nino Schurter, a Swiss rider, was his biggest competitor at the competition. They had participated in GP Tell just weeks before the game, where Fuglsang finished third and Schurter 8th placed respectively. However, Schurter was in the lead when they reached the final of the competition, but Fuglsang was closing in on the Swiss and overthrew him on the final lap on an uphill section. Fuglsang was able to cross the line as the Under-23 World Champion. Fuglsang got tattooed the rainbow stripes on his right arm after the festival. Fuglsang has shifted his attention away from road racing to mountain biking, but he will still ride mountain bike races. He rejoined Paulissen for the second year after placing second overall with teammate Roal Paulissen in Cape Epic in 2007, winning the overall trophy. He was assisting in the 2008 Danmark Rundt production, which was the last stage. He had been in touch with Team Saxo Bank, and the contract was eventually signed the day before he defeated Danmark Rundt. Despite having signed the contract, Fuglsang's boss wanted him to wait as his market value could inflate if he did not win Danmark Rundt, which he did the following day.

In 2009, Fuglsang rode his first World Tour season, competing for Team Saxo Bank, which was headed by Bjarne Riis. In the Volta a Catalunya and Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, he had a fruitful first year placing 6th overall. Fuglsang won his second Danmark Rundt in August, and he had also won Tour of Slovenia one and a half months before. When he first began in the Vuelta a Espaa in August and September, he rode his first Grand Tour in August and September. He crashed in the first couple stages when he rode into a tanker's back due to inadequate road control. In the Italian classic Giro dell'Emilia, he came in second place later this season.

Team Saxo Bank's next year will be tumultuous. Due to a lack of sponsorship support, it was uncertain if the team would return in 2011. Fuglsang wanted to stay on the team but Leopard Trek had a good offer that was enough to persuade him. Fuglsang finished third overall in the Tour de Suisse in June and captured the Danish National Time Trial Championships for the first time in his career. Fuglsang began his first ever Tour de France in July 2010. Despite the fact that the majority of the squad will leave this year, Riis managed the team well and Andy Schleck would win the competition thanks to Alberto Contador's Clenbuterol case. Fuglsang won his third Danmark Rundt in a row following the Tour de France. Fuglsang finished fourth in Giro di Lombardia, beating Vincenzo Nibali in a sprint in his last run for Team Saxo Bank.

Fuglsang was riding for the new Luxembourgish team Leopard Trek, which was sponsored by Flavio Becca in the 2011 season. Fuglsang got off to a rocky start to his season by placing 11th at Tour of Oman before abandoning to Paris-Nice. On the Time trial at Tour of the Basque Country, he came in third and fourth. To get his first top result of the season, he had to wait until the middle of April. Fuglsang won the Amstel Gold Race, despite Philippe Gilbert's victory over Cauberg in an attack. Fuglsang was unable to maintain the heat but managed to finish 4th just 5 seconds behind Gilbert, but only 5 seconds behind Gilbert. Fuglsang will race in France as a domestique for the Schleck brothers from the start of the season, and he put on a good showing in his last stage race before the Tour. Fuglsang finished fourth overall in the Tour de Suisse, completing yet another great Time trial. He also placed second in the Danish National Time Trial Championships in June. Leopard Trek was one of the favourites to win at the 2011 Tour de France. Fränk Schleck was 3rd, Fuglsang 5th, and Andy Schleck 6th in the first eight stages, and Andy Schleck sixth. Fuglsang dropped out of the top ten in the standings, but the Tour was still a success, with Andy Schleck winning the stage and second overall and 2nd overall, and Fränk Schleck finishing third overall. Fuglsang competed in the Vuelta a Espaa, where Leopard Trek won the Opening Team Time Trial, with Fuglsang winning the first place. Fuglsang would wear the Red Leaders jersey on the following stage, as a result of this. Fuglsang was just the second Danish rider to wear the jersey, which had been worn by Lars Michaelsen before. On stage 2, his coworker Daniele Bennati took over the lead. Fuglsang won another great Time trial on stage 10 on stage 10 and placed 6th overall, bringing him up to second place overall. However, he will finish 11th overall and will finish later in the season.

Fuglsang remained with the Schleck brothers in 2012 as the team renamed RadioShack–Nissan. In the 2012 Giro d'Italia, he was supposed to be his team's captain but he was forced to leave due to knee injuries and was replaced by Fränk Schleck. Fuglsang won the Tour de Luxembourg later that day, taking the overall classification jersey with him to Differdange and then defending his lead with the assistance of his team in Luxembourg City's fourth and final stage. Due to heavy rain, the last stage had to be reduced by 47 km (29 mi) by the organizers. He was then barred from the Tour de France by the RadioShack–Nissan team's leadership after he had chastised them. Since being unhappy with the way things were going within the squad, he said he wanted to race for another squad in the upcoming season. Fuglsang wrote that there was no real team behind the team when it was first published in collaboration with Rasmus Staghaghj in 2018. The result of a merger between the two teams, Leopard Trek and Team RadioShack, was RadioShack–Nissan. The team was often divided and competing as two teams rather than one in races and training camps. It was confirmed that Fuglsang would not be racing any more World Tour races in 2012 after having phoned general manager Johan Bruyneel. Fuglsang rode the Tour of Austria for the second time in his career as he won the Danish National Time Trial Championships for the second time in his career. Fuglsang won stage 4 and overall, beating BMC Racing Team's Steve Morabito, who came in one minute and 24 seconds behind the Dane.

Fuglsang left RadioShack-Nissan at the end of the 2012 season and joined Astana on a three-year deal from 2013 to 2020. Fuglsang, Astana's team leader, was among the 2013 Tour de France. Fuglsang saw it as a crucial opportunity to gain some time on the other candidates as Dan Martin attacked on stage 9, and was stabbed with Martin. They discovered a void right away and began to work together. It was evident that the pack did not know how to catch them inside the final kilometers. Fuglsang led the sprint from the front, but Martin had no time to follow and had to settle for second place in 2nd place. When Saxo–Tinkoff struck during sections of crosswinds, it was not until stage 13 that Fuglsang was on the offence again. Fuglsang was the only rider from Astana on the break and finished fourth overall, rising to sixth overall. His coworkers and staff applauded his efforts on that stage. Fuglsang defeated Dutch rider Bauke Mollema for the 6th position from then on. After a good showing in the mountains and time trials, he eventually ended up finishing seventh overall. Vincenzo Nibali, his colleague, earned his second position at Vuelta a Espaa later this year.

Fuglsang had a steady presence at the major World Tour stage events during the 2014 season. Vincenzo Nibali was expected to help Vincenzo Nibali win the 2014 Tour de France. However, the Italian rider showed no results before the Critérium du Dauphiné. Nibali tried to fight on the last stage of the one-week stage competition but was later canceled due to his efforts. Fuglsang was initially instructed to speed Nibali up the final climb, but Fuglsang was eventually ordered to ride his own risk as the speed continued to slow. Since the Tour de France's leader was younger than his domestique, this caused a lot of controversies at Astana.

Fuglsang attacked a few times before Nibali was able to get away and win the stage in the end on stage 2 of Tour de France. Fuglsang and Nibali were riding together on the cobblestone stage just a few days after losing to the other contenders. However, Nibali was having issues on the final stretch of cobblestones, and she could not quite close the gap to Lars Boom, who rode away in the distance and won the stage. Fuglsang had to slow down in order to get Nibali to the finish line, and Fuglsang finished second on a Tour de France stage, and Froglsang placed second. Nibali came in first overall and Fuglsang second overall, with Fuglsang second overall. However, Fuglsang's first ascension exhibited vulnerability and dropped to fourth place overall. He dropped out of the top ten on stage 10 and lost even more time on stage 13 after hitting a bottle on the downhill to the final climb. Fuglsang, who finished 36th overall, faced the remainder of the race.

Fuglsang also placed seventh in both the Tour of Oman and Paris-Nice, placing sixth overall in two of the three Ardennes Classics, finishing eighth at La Flèche Wallonne and ninth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Vincenzo Nibali's main aim of the season was to help Vincenzo Nibali defend his Tour de France crown in 2014. However, Nibali looked weaker on the first mountain stage, and the Astana team gave Fuglsang his own chance. Fuglsang had a fantastic final climb but came in 13th after being a domestique to Nibali. The Astana team later revealed that they were going to concentrate on Fuglsang for the remainder of the season. On the other hand, Fuglsang lost a lot of time on the next day, with Nibali only missing a second. The race was running up Plateau de Beille on the last day in the Pyrenees, and Fuglsang was in a 22-man breakaway. Riders were dropped from the group as the group's final climb, and Joaquim Rodrez was assaulted by the Spaniards who were unable to match the Spaniard's speed. Rodrez finished second at 1:12 down to Jakob Fuglsang, who arrived at the soaking wet finish line in second place. Fuglsang went all in on stage 18 of the competition, perhaps his last chance on stage. He had been a member of a huge corporation that had grown smaller as it approached Col du Glandon. Fuglsang had a shot at winning the competition, but he was knocked down by a motorbike that was about to pass the group. This ended his chances of winning a stage, and the race's pilot was later suspended.

Fuglsang rode the Giro del Trentino in the final preparation run for the 2016 Giro d'Italia. Fuglsang finished the season in 3rd overall, with teammate Tanel Kangert finishing 2nd overall. Nibali's team only came in 21st overall, with Paul Lafoni finishing 21st. Nibali charged on the first day of the Giro d'Italia but was later disqualified after his assault. Fuglsang followed the other contenders and even attacked inside the final kilometer, ending in 2nd place overall, while still advancing to second place. Fuglsang lost time to the other candidates two days after being punctured on a gravel road two days later. Nibali was crowned the Giro d'Italia after coming back from a comeback in the final week of the season, with support from Fuglsang and his Astana team. Fuglsang was lacking form at the Tour de France, but he fought on the final mountain stage but had no luck in advancing to the champion on that stage. Astana's team leader, Fabio Aru, also cracked on that stage, leaving Astana's Tour de France empty handed.

Two of the main favorites Vincenzo Nibali and Richie Porte crashed in Rio de Janeiro, Fuglsang, during the final climb. As Rafa Majka's last kilometers came alone in the front, but Fuglsang and Greg Van Avermaet's strike ensured that a trio had formed within the last 1.5 kilometers. Fuglsang was leading the trio into the final kilometer, with Van Avermaet starting the race inside the final 200 meters over Fuglsang. Van Avermaet received a gold medal, silver for Fuglsang, and bronze for Majka. Fuglsang began to compete more competitively in the following seasons after his silver medal in the Olympic Games.

Fuglsang was the head of the Critérium du Dauphiné, alongside Italian teammate Fabio Aru. Fuglsang was on Mont du Chat on stage 6 and revealed a gap on the general classification candidates. However, Aru returned a few minutes after, sparking a lot of discussion since his colleague was at the front of the fight. Aru was the first to reach the top of the climb with Chris Froome, Richie Porte, and Jakob Fuglsang, who were 15 seconds behind. Aru was trapped on the downhill and the quartet crossed the finish line together, with Fuglsang winning the stage. Fuglsang's first victory in nearly five years, his first world tour victory and first victory in Astana colours was a huge relief. Fuglsang placed seventh on the following day and was the only rider with the ability to keep up with Porte, earning him his third rank in the general classification. Fuglsang put on a good showing on the last day of the competition. Froome and Team Sky were determined to win and charged early on the stage where race king Porte was defeated. From the start, it was clear that Froome was doing everything he could to raise his Froome's gap to Porte. However, he had used too much energy on the stage, and he collapsed at the final climb. Fuglsang charged Dan Martin and Fuglsang a little later, aiming Martin, and a blast passes him as Fuglsang's second stage in less than three days. Not only did he win the stage, but Fuglsang also took the overall title, which was his highest victory of his career.

Fuglsang was now one of the top favorites going into the Tour de France. Fuglsang died over a minute on the first mountain stage and started to question if he had lost the form he had lost one month before. On stage 9 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, he bounced back on the queen stage of the competition, where Mont du Chat was included. Fuglsang thrashed the Dauphiné due to his early warning of the climb, but Fabio Aru launched an attack once more. When Chris Froome had a mechanical, it sparked a lot of discussion as the Italian assaulted his own teammate and attacked when he was attacked. When Fuglsang defeated Warren Barguil for the stage victory, they found themselves downhill with the other general classification candidates. Fuglsang charged within the first 500 meters but Rigoberto Urán chased him down and ended his chances of winning the stage. Despite losing the stage, Fuglsang still finished 5th overall. He went down in a food related accident and sustained fractured elbow and wrist fractures. On stage 13, he dropped the competition. Fuglsang won stage 2 of the Tour of Almaty, which was on a climb to Almaty.

Fuglsang placed third in the Spanish stage race "Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana," his first race of the season. He took second place at the Vuelta a Murcia in the top ten finish a week later, finishing 6th. Fuglsang rode the Vuelta a Andaluca, where he finished fourth overall in February. Fuglsang arrived in Paris-Nice with the intention of riding for the general class, but he was involved in a crash on the first stage and lost time as he did the previous year. Fuglsang helped his teammate through the marathon, but after Sanchez crashed on stage 7, he ended ninth on the stage and finished 9th.

Since the first stage races of the year, he will continue his form. The Ardennes Classics, where he came in 8th at Amstel Gold Race and 10th at Liège-Bastogne–Liège, and his first races back after his training camp were his best efforts. When he began Tour de Romandie, Fuglsang was ready to compete again just two days later. He charged on the downhill of stage 4's last climb on stage 3 and claimed his first victory of the season after a disappointing time trial. On the final stage, he finished fourth overall, placing him within the pack.

Fuglsang then went back to altitude training camp to prepare for the Tour de France. Fuglsang's first book, which he wrote in collaboration with Rasmus Staghaghaghj, was published on June 1st.

Tour de Suisse was his last run before "La Grande Boucle" was called on. Fuglsang and his Astana teammates got off to a rocky start in the race, finishing 20th in the team time trial on stage 1. Fuglsang recovered and placed 2nd on the queen stage, and gave the best time trial of the general classification candidates on stage 9, advancing Fuglsang to 2nd place overall. Although Fuglsang arrived in France, his first week was full of ups and downs. He was ninth on the first stage, but Astana almost lost a minute on stage 3. As the race rolled into the region of Brittany, Fuglsang was dealing with injuries and mechanical difficulties. After the cobbled classics stage, where Fuglsang attacked but had no intention of getting away from the crowd, he managed to overcome the challenges and rose to 7th place in the general classification, a stage in which Fuglsang attacked but had no hope of getting out of the crowd. Fuglsang was close to top three overall when the Alps were approaching, but she fell to 12th place overall on stage 11. He was struggling to keep up with the other general classification candidates for the remainder of the competition and ended 12th overall in Paris.

Fuglsang returned to racing after 2.5 weeks in Arctic Race of Norway, where he was in the breakaway on stage 2 and finished ninth on stage. Fuglsang was in a late breakaway with Tim Wellens (Lotto–Soudal) and James Knox (Quick-Step Floors), but was disqualified by the group with 6.2 kilometers to go to the Canadian World Tour classic Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, but she was held back by the bunch with 6.2 kilometers to go. Fuglsang competed in the UCI Road World Championships in late September and ranked 20th. Fuglsang was 11th at Giro dell'Emilia one week later.

Fuglsang began his 2019 season at Vuelta a Murcia, where he finished sixth in the general classification. At the time, he also won the Mountains classification. His next victory will already be achieved in the coming week, where he will conquer Viuelta a Andaluca in front of other Tour favorites. In Strade Bianche, he rode his first big masterpiece of the season, finishing second behind Julian Alaphilippe in second place. Several times in the final, Fuglsang assaulted Fuglsang, but the Frenchman, who ended up outsprinting Fuglsang on the last climb, could not be dropped. The Astana Team made a poor attempt in the Team time trial and finished 13th, according to Tirreno-Adriatico. Fuglsang mounted and made a heroic attempt on stage 5 in Recanati. He finished winning and advanced to third place in the general classification, his final position in the competition. Fuglsang dedicated his triumph on Stage 5 to his late colleague Michele Scarponi.

Fuglsang rode in his upcoming race at Tour of the Basque Country in honour of his colleague Ion Izagirre who would go on to win the overall competition. On the final day of Emanuel Buchmann's reign, Izaguirre took the race lead, although Emanuel Buchmann would make an error in the final turn. The German cyclist took the incorrect turn, causing him to miss several seconds and then his podium position and eventually his podium debut. However, the race jury has chosen Buchmann to return to the podium, bringing Fuglsang's finish to fourth place overall. Fuglsang found the call "ridiculous" and said he'd never seen anything like it before.

Fuglsang rode an amazing Ardennes Classics week, where he came in second place in both three races. Fuglsang rode away with Alaphilippe, looking to eke out the victory, but the chasing team slowed dramatically in the final kilometer, allowing the chasing team to close the gap to the leaders. Ultimately, Fuglsang came in third place, and Alaphilippe 4th came in 4th place. La Flèche Fuglsang was assaulted on Muur de Huy, and only Alaphilippe could follow. As the Frenchman outsprinted the Dane, it was once more a war between Fuglsang and Alaphilippe. Fuglsang was the favourite in the last classics race Liège-Bastogne–Liège, the favourite, despite intense pressure. He assaulted everyone in the final stages and killed everyone, but Fuglsang's heroic rescue gave him his first victory in a monument classic. Fuglsang placed 3rd on Stage 2 at Critérium du Dauphiné, his final run before the Tour de France, and he was one of the top candidates for overall Tour victory. On the penultimate day after threatening and sacking Adam Yates, he will wear the yellow jersey. Yates, his nearest challenger for overall victory, called off the competition due to a fever. Thibaut Pinot attempted an attack within the final two kilometres, but Fuglsang quickly closed it down and won his second Critérium du Dauphiné.

Fuglsang started his 2020 campaign with a victory in the Spanish stage competition Vuelta a Andaluca. Fuglsang also won two stages and finished second on two other occasions, in addition to winning the general classification. Fuglsang began racing in August with a 5th-place finish in the Italian neo-classic Strade Bianche, and a week later, he finished second in the Tour de Pologne, placing him 2nd. He won his first victory after the lockdown on August 15th as he soloed his way to victory in the Italian monument race Il Lombardia. Fuglsang's second monument triumph, as well as the first time a Danish cyclist won the competition.

Fuglsang finished 5th in the road race and thus improved on his previous best result, finishing 12th in the road race in 2019. Fuglsang came out as a top favorite and rode a tactical contest until his ascension to Cima Gallisterna, where he fell just short of his eventual race champion Julian Alaphilippe. Alaphilippe survived on the last climb and soloed to victory, while Fuglsang lost the competition for silver and bronze medals in a chase team. He competed in the Giro d'Italia, finishing sixth overall, his highest Grand Tour finish to that point.

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