Fuglsang returns to full health in time for Volta a Catalunya

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Jakob Fuglsang has recovered from the illness that caused him to withdraw from Paris-Nice just in time to lead his Astana squad at the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya. The Danish rider failed to finish stage 4 at Paris-Nice won by Michael Albasini (Orica GreenEdge) however, his Kazakh squad has said is on the way back to full health.

"Jacob Fuglsang rides back into full strength this week at the 93rd Volta Ciclistica a Catalunya in Spain, recovered from intestinal trouble that saw him withdraw last week from Paris-Nice," said a team release.

Fuglsang has enjoyed a relatively slow build-up to the 2013 season after signing for the Astana squad at the end of last year. The Dane left his former RadioShack squad frustrated after being ruled-out of racing any WorldTour events following the rumours he would be leaving the team at the end of the season.

The Dane begun his season at the 2.1 Ruta Del Sol where he took three top-ten finishes on the way to sixth overall however, he never appeared to be in contention at his next outing in Paris-Nice. The team has enlisted the services of Agnoli and Gavazzai to support the 27-year-old at Catalunya while Andrea Guardini is back to racing after picking up his first season win at Tour de Langkawi.

Guardini, along with his supporters, had expected more from the sprinter at the 10-day Malaysian race despite still managing to pick up one stage win. The winner of 12 stages at Langkawi looked almost certain to capture the sprint classification until he was struck down by apparent food poisoning with two stages remaining.

The Astana Pro Team for Volta Ciclistica a Catalunya: Valerio Agnoli (Ita), Fabio Aru (Ita), Alexandr Dyachenko (Kaz), Jakob Fuglsang (Den), Fracensco Gavazzi (Ita), Andrea Guardini (Ita), Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) and Egor Silin (Rus).