ALEXEY LUTSENKO

What kind of rider is Alexey Lutsenko? One one hand, he’s one of the minor leaders at Astana. Jakob Fuglsang and Miguel Ángel López (and in the past Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru) shine more brightly in the stage races, while Magnus Cort (and in the past Michael Valgren) has been better in the classics. On the other, his career has been on a stealthy rise since he turned pro in 2013 – apart from 2017, he’s won more each season than the last. And his best results are spread over a variety of races. He’s won the Tour of Oman and he’s also been top 10 in the Dauphiné, Omloop and Strade Bianche. He’s also got a nice sideline in home races – he’s won the Kazakh Tour of Almaty four times, which doesn’t make many waves internationally, but plays well at home since he’s a Kazakh rider on a Kazakh team. Yet Lutsenko has never quite broken through into bona fide leader, though he was one of the strongest riders in the peloton in February and March this year. Perhaps this is down to his relative youth. He’s 27 now, but entered the pro ranks in 2013 as a 20-year-old, fresh from victory in the world U23 road race champs. It seems he has been a pro for a long time, but he’s only now maturing.

This year he’s won 10 races – three stages and the GC in Oman, a stage in Tirreno, national champs in the TT and road race, the Arctic Race, Coppa Sabatini and Memorial Marco Pantani. All smallish races, but with Cort leaving next year, Lutsenko may have enough sway to make himself the absolute leader in the classics and maybe pick up that first really big win.