Joe Dombrowski could be set to lead Astana Qazaqstan Team's general classification hopes after the unceremonious exit of two-time Grand Tour podium finisher Miguel Angel Lopez.
With the Colombian's departure leaving Astana a rider short in the GC department, Dombrowski is willing to step in and fill the gap despite the American favouring a role that would give him to target stages. “If that’s what the team wanted, then I’d be certainly happy to try," Dombrowski says to VeloNews. “I would prefer to win a stage. But if the team gives me an objective, whether that’s to help a GC rider, to win a stage, or to even try and do GC myself, I’m happy to do any of those things and do it the best I can."
With a career-best Grand Tour for the American being a 12th place finish at the 2019 Giro d'Italia, does the 31-year-old back himself to challenge for the podium if given the lead role? "I don’t think so. Maybe someone thinks I can, but I think probably the answer is not,” he admits. “Even if you’re top 10, I guess it’s that whole weighing if you think it’s better to be ninth to overall on the GC or to win a stage a mountain stage?"
With Dombrowski's contract at Astana coming to an end at the end of 2023, there is some pressure on him to perform and secure a new deal at Astana or elsewhere. "When you’re 21 years old, if you finish top 10 it is worth a big contract so that probably makes sense. But when you’re 30 years old it has less value,” he says. "I don’t think there’s ever not pressure, or I would just say, if you don’t feel some pressure, then you’re probably not in the right place.”
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