Jakob Fuglsang of Astana Pro Team wins Critérium du Dauphiné

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM - Winning the race already once in 2017, today Jakob Fuglsang claimed his second Critérium du Dauphiné GC victory. The Dane successfully defended his lead in the final stage together with his teammates, of which Kazakh national champion Alexey Lutsenko was able to take a GC top 10 as well, securing a seventh place overall. Astana Pro Team has also been crowned as the winner of the Team Classification, the team's press office informs.

"I was expecting a day that was harder than it turned out to be, but my team did a perfect job as they controlled the race in the best way possible. A group went away with just one rider who was within 6 minutes in the GC, so there was no stress. I could just sit in the wheel of my teammates and they brought me all the way to the finish line. This victory for me is special because now I could actually ride in the yellow jersey, as in 2017 I won the race on the final day. I'm super happy to bring this jersey to the finish today with the great help of my team. I want to thank all of our partners and sponsors for this win, especially Samruk Kazyna for the great support throughout the years.

I look forward to the Tour de France, I think I'm on the right way and until now it's already been a great season for me and Astana. This year everything seems to come really easy and perfect, there is no stress and the atmosphere is fantastic. We lift each other, we are ready to sacrifice ourselves for our teammates and with that, we were able to win many races with many different riders. I want to congratulate Luis Leon Sanchez as well with his win in Switzerland," said Jakob Fuglsang.

On the final day of Critérium du Dauphiné, the riders went from Cluses to Champéry (113,5 kilometers), including seven climbs of which a 1st and 3rd categorized climb were in the final 20 kilometers of the race. A group of thirteen riders went clear, with none of the riders being a threat for the overall classification of Jakob Fuglsang. Halfway the race, the closest contender Adam Yates (+0'08") had to abandon the race due to a fever. Meanwhile, the breakaway gained an advantage of over 4 minutes and was able to fight for the stage win, with Dylan van Baarle taking the stage victory. Behind the break, Jakob Fuglsang had a solid ride to the finish thanks to his teammates as he secured his Dauphiné win. Alexey Lutsenko finished seventh overall and the team won the Team Classification as well.