After a blazing 2018 is a new season started with the World Tour-race Tour Down Under in Australia as the first on the calendar. In the boot list is the best paid rider and the biggest star, namely Michael Valgren, and he has put the ambitious from the country.
In the several weeks leading up to the race he stayed in the australian heat of the battle to get used to the heat and get shot its first season for the south american Dimension Data-team started. The course must send him first-class towards the classics, where he after last year’s triumphal is a rider, everyone looking on.
He can win a major this year. A monument as the Liège-Bastogne-Liège, for example. His 2018 season will be difficult to surpass, but it is not unreasonable to expect it. Michael Valgren should in 2019 be a guarantor for yet another great Danish cycling season.
Here is my take on what you can expect of the many Danish professionals in the field in years.
——— SPLIT ELEMENT ———
– Jacob Fuglsang (Astana), Jesper Hansen (Cofidis), Niklas Eg (Trek-Segafredo), Jonas Gregaard (Astana), Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma)
Jakob Fuglsang will go for a better classification of the location in this summer’s Tour de France. Photo: Tariq Mikkel Khan
When it comes to stage races on the World Tour level, has Jakob Fuglsang in many years, drawn loaded, and he has done it superbly with several rankings in the top 10 and top 5. It must also be him, the interest gathers about in 2019, when he again bet on the standings in the Tour de France. It can probably get even a top 10 ranking out of.
Jesper Hansen consume in the year an interesting role on the French Cofidis team, where he is going to run as captain. In a Grand Tour context, it can enough maximum range to a location in the lower part of the top 15, I have a hard time seeing him suddenly to race with Nibali, Aru, Yates brothers, a bunch of colombians and so just a handful of the Cloud-riders.
Gregaard and Vingegaard with in order to learn, while Niklas Oak should lay a little on and run with in the top 10 on bjergetaperne in short stage races. There is hardly any of the Danish bjergryttere, who wins a WT victory in the mountains in years. It is insanely difficult to win in the mountains, it happens almost never, to such a stage kicks off, without that there is at least one of the world’s ten best bjergryttere behind the starter rope. And none of the ten are Danish.
——— SPLIT ELEMENT ———
– Michael Valgren (Dimension Data), Magnus Cort (Astana), Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo), Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Sunweb), Søren Kragh Andersen (Sunweb)
Michael Valgren should try to improve its stunning 2018-year. Photo: Tariq Mikkel Khan
It is these riders who are going to celebrate the biggest Danish triumphs. To Asbjørn Kragh comes to the start of the great classics, is not given, but the others have proven their worth and are to be counted among the favorites in the forårsklassikerne.
2018 was an exceptional year, but one can rightly expect that 2019 is not being inferior. Valgren won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the Amstel Gold Race, and was number four in Flanders Around while Mads Pedersen was number two in Flanders, Around. Søren Kragh won the Paris-Tours, and Cort won a Tour stage.
It is remarkable that so early on in the race, which normally requires many years of experience. It testifies to the enormous potential of these riders, and I will be hard to be disappointed, if not this bunch of pulls at least a couple of big victories home in the spring. And a couple of stage victories in the Tour would not come up behind me.
——— SPLIT ELEMENT ———
– Lars Bak (Dimension Data), Matti Breschel (ef Education First), Michael Mørkøv (Deceuninck – Quick-step), Chris Juul Jensen (Mitchelton-Scott), Lasse Norman Hansen (Corendon-Circus)
The experienced Fox, Matti Breschel, from his time at Astana. Photo: Claus Bonnerup
It would surprise me if one of these riders took a win in 2019 – it should then just be a DM-win – for the times is probably over. It is no longer their task to win. It is instead to keep the Yates brothers, Viviani, Cavendish and Valgren promote, so they can win.
It is hard work, and they do it well. They are the type of riders who can deliver when it is required, and which may denote, season after season as a success without even getting first over the line.
——— SPLIT ELEMENT ———
– the Jonas Gregaard (Astana), Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), Mikkel Honoré (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), Rasmus Byriel Iversen (Lotto-Soudal), Casper Pedersen (Sunweb), Asbjørn Kragh Andersen (Sunweb), Jacob Egholm (Hagens Berman Axeon)
Jonas Gregaard was chased by several big teams, but it was Astana who got it young stortalents signature. Photo: Stine Tisvilde
Gregaard and Honoré have been running the fall as stagiaires on their current team, so they’ve got the scent of the new reality that meets a rider, who moves up on the upper level. For them, as for all the other World Tour debutants, however, that it is now, they really need to do lessons.
They are all riders with potential, but at present none know what they can achieve in adult-cycling. The same applies to Jacob Egholm, who makes his debut as a professional just outside of the World Tour.
——— SPLIT ELEMENT ———
– Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck – Quick-Step), Mads Würtz Schmidt (Katusha), Mikkel Bjerg (Hagens Berman Axeon)
Kasper Asgreen won gold in the team time trial in september with his team, Quick-Step. Photo: Tariq Mikkel Khan
the Greatest scam I have to Asgreen, which could probably run with victory in the time trial in stage races like the Four Days of Dunkirk, the Three Days of Panne or Poitou-Charentes. In the race he could be podiekandidat in the power of his good time trial.
Mads Würtz Schmidt has faded in his time at Katusha. He has not increased his worth, while the young Mikkel Bjerg, in turn, very much has proven that he can run a time trial in the world. He should be out to win a time trial over the adults now and should be running in the top 10 at the WORLD cup.
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– Riwal-Readynez
Alexander Fight can be a klasserytter, but there are too many fluctuations. Photo: Jonas Olufson
Denmark has again a team in the professional ranks, and it has given the 11 Danish riders new status in the sport. It is, however, hardly it is quite large, one should expect out of it fynskbaserede collective, which is probably barely going to make themselves noticed on the World Tour level this year.
I will believe, it becomes to be in the region of five victories for the team, so it ends up enough with a neat and not flashy season for the team, which has the Alexander Fight as the strongest card. When he is sharp, he is one of the best endagsryttere, but he falls too often through.
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