Astana Premier Tech’s Lutsenko secures career-best 7th place at Tour de France

NUR-SULTAN, July 19 (KAZINFORM) - Alexey Lutsenko crossed the line on the Champs-Élysées to ride to a career-best seventh place in the General Classification to secure his first top ten result in six Tour de France participations, Kazinform has learnt from the club’s press service. Lutsenko’s impressive performance makes the 2020 Tour de France stage winner the first Kazakh rider to secure a top ten result at the Tour de France since 2005. «I am really happy and proud to finish in the top ten at the Tour de France. I came into the race after a good Critérium du Dauphiné and wanted to take things day by day to see what I could do. To finish in seventh place is a big achievement for me, especially as a Kazakh rider. I want to thank all of my teammates as they supported me a lot throughout the race and helped me to fight to be in the top ten», said Alexey Lutsenko after the finish of Stage 21. «It was a really hard Tour de France which makes it even more special to finish in the top ten. Of course, it would have been nice to win a stage again, but I can come away from the race happy with my performance and my form and motivated for Tokyo». Astana – Premier Tech Managing Director Yana Seel highlighted the importance of Lutsenko’s achievement for the Kazakh – Canadian team. «It makes me really proud to see Alexey Lutsenko’s name in the top ten of the Tour de France. Proud for Alexey, proud for Astana – Premier Tech and proud for Kazakhstan. Alexey didn’t give up throughout the three weeks and his result really shows his determination in what was a tough race. As a Kazakh – Canadian team, it is really important to support our Kazakh riders and I think Alexey’s result will inspire our young Kazakh riders», added Seel. The team narrowly missed a stage win on multiple occasions with eight top ten results throughout the three weeks while supporting Lutsenko’s General Classification bid. Team Performance Manager and Sports Director Dmitriy Fofonov praised the riders’ teamwork and aggressive approach to stage hunting. «I am really satisfied with the team’s racing here at the Tour de France. We came here with the objective of winning a stage and having someone in the top ten of the General Classification. With Alexey Lutsenko in the top ten, we achieved one of these and we came very close to the other. We saw a super Alexey in the race with great form and motivation, so I am happy to see his hard work pay off. All of the team raced aggressively in the breakaways, and we had Ion Izagirre coming very close to the win on stage 8 and our Spanish Champion Omar Fraile up there on multiple occasions. We had a good spirit in the team and all of the riders did a great job to support Alexey and help him to achieve his GC result. As you can see, many teams are leaving without a stage win, but we can be happy knowing we did our maximum every day and were able to finish with Alexey in seventh place overall», said Fofonov.