Aleksandr Vlasov (cyclist)

In October 2020, he was named in the startlists for the Giro d'Italia[8] and the Vuelta a España,[9] where he finished 11th overall. In 2021, he finished second in Paris–Nice,[10] and finished just off the podium in the Giro d'Italia.[11]

In August 2021, Vlasov was announced to be moving to the Bora–Hansgrohe team, signing an initial three-year contract from 2022.[12] Vlasov made his first start with the team at January's Challenge Mallorca, finishing third in the Trofeo Pollença – Port d'Andratx.[13] In his first stage race with the team, the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, Vlasov won the third stage which finished on the Alto de las Antenas del Maigmó.[14] He assumed the overall race lead, which he held to the end of the race.[15] He took four further top-five results over the next two months, placing fourth overall at the UAE Tour,[16] second at the GP Miguel Induráin,[17] third overall at the Tour of the Basque Country,[18] and third at La Flèche Wallonne.[19] Following this run of results, Vlasov next competed at the Tour de Romandie, where he was third overall going into the final stage,[20] behind Rohan Dennis and Juan Ayuso. The final stage was a primarily uphill 15.84-kilometre (9.84-mile) individual time trial between the World Cycling Centre in Aigle and the ski resort of Villars-sur-Ollon; Vlasov won the stage by more than half a minute from his next closest challenger Simon Geschke, and with Ayuso and Dennis each losing more than a minute, Vlasov also won the overall general classification.[21]

In preparation for the Tour de France, Vlasov aimed for a 3rd stage race victory of 2022 in the Tour de Suisse, and won the 5th stage to Novazzano, taking the race lead before the first mountain stages. However, Vlasov along with several other riders had to abandon the race the next day after testing positive for Covid 19, hindering his Tour de France preparation. [22]

He went into the 2022 Tour de France, his first Tour entry, with high GC aspirations, but ran into bad luck early in the race. Before the serious mountain stages even started his chances for a high finish took a severe hit.[23] As the race progressed he moved back up in the standings. He made his final jump up to 5th place overall by riding considerably better than Quintana and Meintjes, who were ahead of him to start the day, in the individual time trial on stage 20.[24]