Vlasov will be the leader of Astana in the next Giro d’Italia

Aleksandr Vlasov (24 years old, Russia), he will be the leader of Astana in the next edition of the Giro d’Italia. This has been confirmed in the last hours by the Kazakh team by distributing the great races of the calendar among their stars, so the Russian aims for great objectives in the Italian round. Despite his juventus, Vlasov knows the terrain very well since in lower categories he was a member of the Viris Maserati Sisal team For three seasons, he lived in Italy for several years and even speaks the language. “I guess Italy is like a second home for me,” Vlasov acknowledged for the portal Cyclingnews.

Thus, the Russian will be the great hope of Astana in transalpine territory, above all, in the face of the loss of an important runner for the three-week appointments like the Colombian Miguel Ángel López, who headed to Movistar. Of course, Vlasov will have to take a step forward to live up to expectations after last year withdrew from the Giro in the second stage. “I was really sick, I had caught a stomach virus and couldn’t move on. I went home and recovered and that meant I was able to run the Vuelta afterwards. I suffered in the first days, but the rest the stage after Angliru and I was always up there with the best climbers. I am older and wiser now. I have matured “, he analyzed in Cyclingnews.

Before reaching his long-awaited leadership debut, Vlasov will start the season in the Tour de la Provence, to continue with Paris-Nice and Tour of the Alps. All this with the intention of getting into the box at the Giro: “I think it’s correct to aim high. I always have to take one more step. I did well in the Vuelta and now it is good to try to do well in the Giro d’Italia. I will aim for a spot on the podium, why not? Of course. I also want to win, but it all depends on how the race goes. A podium would be a good result for me and for the team. “We’ll see if time proves him right.