Due to the recent doping cases, UCI has decided to review Astana's WorldTour license. Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang is worried about the situation.
The WorldTour license of the Kazakh Astana team has come under review - a situation which puts Jakob Fuglsang in a difficult situation.
"This is not good for me and for what people think of me," the Danish Astana riders tells DR Sporten.
Due to the latest doping case in which Ilya Davidenok has tested positive for a prohitbited substance a the Tour de l'Avenir, the UCI considers whether the team should be allowed to keep its status as a WorldTour. Davidenok's positive comes just a few weeks after the positives of the Astana brothers Maxim and Valentin Iglinskiy.
If Astana loses its license, Fuglsang is allowed to terminate his contract with the Kazakh team. However, at this time of the year, most teams have signed all contracts for next season, and Fuglsang will have a hard time finding a team which can fulfil his sporing and economic ambitions.
"It's late in the year and most teams have more or less finalized their rosters or maybe they have room for a maximum of two new riders- However, that's probably not for expensive stars but more for young talents they have spotted at the last moment so it will be difficult to find another team," Fuglsang tells DR Sporten.
Regardless of the outcome of the review of the WorldTour license, the suspisions will cling to Astana - a fact that won't make it easier for Fuglsang to ride for the team.
"I have signed a contract with them and I know what my values are - I won't have anything to do with doping - and then we can just hope that the situation is now under control and that there won't be any more cases and that no one on the team tries to cheat the system."
Asked whether he finds himself in a bad situation as he either has to find a new team at a difficult time or has to continue on a suspicious team, the Dane confirms the assessment.
"Yes, that's more or less how it is," he concludes.
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