Fabian Wegmann (Leopard Trek) powers his way to third place (Image credit: Rafael Gómez Alonso)
With his most important season goals just days away, Fabian Wegmann said he and his team are ready to tackle the Ardennes Classics. The German, who came to Leopard Trek from the defunct Milram squad, is known for his aggressive racing style in the Spring Classics, and he intends to be just one of the several contenders his team has on offer.
"As a team, our goal is to bring Andy, Fränk, myself or Maxime (Monfort) or Jakob (Fuglsang) to victory. We have a lot of potential and will play it out," Wegmann told the Luxemburger Tageblatt on Thursday.
The 30-year-old has just returned from Spain, where he scored an honourable third place in the GP Indurain, an event which he has won twice in his career. Now, Wegmann intends to make the best of his peak form in Belgium, especially on the famous Mur de Huy.
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"I have one big dream: to win the Flèche Wallonne. Once, I was very close to it and missed it only by a hair. I was caught with 200 or 300 metres to go. A victory there would be wonderful."
Having finished in the top 15 of Flèche Wallonne four times, Wegmann knows he has the capacities for a victory or podium placing there. "Amstel and Liège are too long, but maybe at Flèche I can have a little bit more freedom. If everything pans out perfectly, it could be to my favour," he said.
Recent race circumstances at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, where so-called outsiders took the victories, did not go by unnoticed. Even though Wegmann is meant to fulfill the role of a domestique for riders such as the Schleck brothers and Fabian Cancellara, he knows possibilities may open up if the favourites stalemate each other.
"At Paris-Roubaix you could see what can happened. Suddenly, it was the domestiques who were up front - it happens, and maybe I could be one of them. These are alternatives, and if they unfold, then you have to try and seize your chances," he added.
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"My greatest success at a Classic is a third placing [at the 2006 Giro di Lombardia behind Paolo Bettini and Samuel Sanchez - ed.]. I'm still hungry for a victory..."
