Jakob Fuglsang wins Critérium du Dauphiné, Luis Leon Sanchez takes stage win in Tour de Suisse 16.06.2019: Winning the race already once in 2017, today Jakob Fuglsang claimed his second Critérium du Dauphiné GC victory while teammate Luis Leon Sanchez won Stage 2 of Tour de Suis

Winning the race already once in 2017, today Jakob Fuglsang claimed his second Critérium du Dauphiné GC victory while teammate Luis Leon Sanchez won Stage 2 of Tour de Suisse. In the Dauphiné, 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.




- 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.    


   


Luis Leon Sanchez wins solo after phenomenal teamwork at Stage 2 of Tour de Suisse




Meanwhile, at the Tour de Suisse, Astana Pro Team continued its fantastic Sunday with an amazing solo victory of Luis Leon Sanchez at the second stage of the race. Sanchez attacked with 11 kilometers to go and immediately opened a solid gap. He was able to stay clear away right until the finish line in Langnau im Emmental, taking a very emotional win.



- I am so happy I could win today, I did not expect I could be so strong in the final, but I was lucky to hold the gap until the end. We knew we have to do this race as hard as possible as there are many big sprinters in the peloton. We had to try to escape the bunch sprint to get a chance to fight for the victory.



The team was super strong on the last two climbs and later when I saw a moment, I’ve made my attack. For a few kilometers, the situation still was on the limit as the peloton was really close, chasing me hard. But in the end, I’ve managed to resist and to win! I want to thank my teammates, they did phenomenal work during the whole day and, especially, in the final. It is a great moment for me to win here at the Tour de Suisse. Also, I want to congratulate Jakob Fuglsang and all Astana on the big success at the Critérium du Dauphiné! - said Luis Leon Sanchez.



With 2 climbs on each of the three local laps, the second stage provided a good opportunity for the riders who like and know how to attack. Astana Pro Team went on the front of the bunch at the bottom of the penultimate climb with around 40 kilometers to go, to set the pace. Firstly, it was Yuriy Natarov and Rodrigo Contreras and later, Andrey Zeits and Luis Leon Sanchez, who created a huge selection in the main group. Omar Fraile made a strong attack with 31 kilometers to go, but later he was caught back. But due to this attack, the group was split into parts. With 11 kilometers to go Luis Leon Sanchez went away solo and this was the winning move.



- We had a good plan for this stage to do it aggressive and hard for the rivals. All guys did a fantastic job, also Omar Fraile made a very nice attack, which helped us to reduce the peloton. We knew we have to keep on attacking and Luis Leon did it in the right moment. We can be happy with the way we started this Tour de Suisse and also with our team, that won the Critérium du Dauphiné in France! What a great day for Astana Pro Team, - said Dmitri Sedoun, sports director of Astana Pro Team.




- Sven Jonker, photos ©Getty Images