Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) will focus exclusively on the Ardennes Classics this spring, deciding to leave the cobblestones to one side. Victory on stage 2 of the Tour of Oman on Sunday proved that the Kazakh, who was the overall winner last year, is once again gearing up nicely for the spring. However, although he will line up in Belgium for the `Opening Weekend` of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne in a fortnight, he will not appear during the main cobbled Classics period, choosing instead to focus on the hillier Ardennes races later in April. Lutsenko, 26, had more of an emphasis on the Ardennes in the first years of his career, but then started getting into the cobbled races of northern Belgium, his potential laid bare by third place at the 2017 Dwars door Vlaanderen.ADVERTISEMENT However, after a 2018 spring that was beset by crashes, and a year in which he developed as a climber - he was second on Green Mountain in Oman and won hilly stages at the Tours of Austria and Turkey - he is heading back to the Ardennes, with Amstel Gold Race and Liège-Bastogne-Liège both big targets. `This year I won`t do the cobbled classics - just Kuurne and Nieuwsblad. I want to try for the Ardennes Classics. I prefer them,` Lutsenko told Cyclingnews in Al Bustan after his Tour of Oman win. `I like more long climbs and steep climbs. I like the cobbles but I want to try for the Ardennes, and it`s hard to do both.` Oman
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
|
