In August, nearing the end of a long season, a rider`s motivation has the tendency to wax and wane. In Sint-Pieters-Leeuw on Friday morning, Michael Valgren (Astana) breezily confessed that he was not exactly inspired by the fare that awaited him on stage 5 of the BinckBank Tour, a flat run towards Lanaken. Fortunately for the Dane, the final weekend of the race features two stages that seem better tailored to his dextrous talents. `It depends. Some days the motivation is good and some days it`s not so good. I`m motivated for tomorrow but on a day like today, I`d rather be on the couch relaxing, but you have to finish the stages because I get to the stages I want,` Valgren told Cyclingnews. `But I`m motivated for the races in Canada too and I`m using this to get back into the race rhythm after the Tour de France. Hopefully I can be good there and finish the season strongly.` The early part of Valgren`s year could scarcely have gone much better. Victory at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad meant that his spring was already success before the end of February, but he followed that breakout win with a fine fourth place finish at the Tour of Flanders and a canny victory at Amstel Gold Race.ADVERTISEMENT Those results elevated the 26-year-old`s status from that of future promise to a rather more immediate guarantee of success, and an orderly queue of suitors formed. Earlier this month, he confirmed that he will leave Astana for Dimension Data in 2019. `I think Dimension Data are passionate about me and I can be the captain in the Classics,` Valgren said. `I was also a captain here, but we had four or five captains, so I had to compete with my teammates a bit. At Dimension Data, I really feel the support I`m getting will be really big.` Valgren`s assurance on the bike seems matched by his confidence off it. When he arrived to sign on at E3 Harelbeke in March, for instance, he responded in the affirmative when asked by speaker Michel Wuyts if he felt he could win the race. `Ye ...
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