Following their excellent success in Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico, Ag2r will try to keep their momentum going in next week's many races. While Sebastien Turgot and Damien Gaudin will lead the team in the cobbled classics, Carlos Betancur and Domenico Pozzovivo will chase success in the Volta a Catalunya and Jean-Christophe Peraud in the Criterium International.
Ag2r got their European WorldTour season off to a fabulous start when Carlos Betancur won two stages and the overall in Paris-Nice while Jean-Christophe Peraud and Domenico Pozzovivo finished 4th and 6th in Tirreno-Adriatico respectively. The team will hope to carry their momentum into next week's racing where they will be active on three fronts.
First up is a pair of French one-day races over the weekend. Saturday's Classique Loire-Atlantique and Sunday's Cholet-Pays de Loire may both finish in a bunch sprint and the team will be backing their fast finisher Yauheni Hutarovich in those two races.
On Monday, the team will line up a very powerful roster for the Volta a Catalunya. Betancur and Pozzovivo will both chase further success on the mountainous parcours that has no time trial and suits them down to the ground. Romain Bardet will also be on hand after his bad luck in Paris-Nice as will Mikael Cherel who played a crucial support role for Betancur in the French race. For the sprints, the team can count on an in-form Samuel Dumoulin.
On Wednesday, the cobbled classics season kicks off with the Dwars door Vlaanderen and will continue with E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem on Friday and Sunday respectively. Sebastien Turgot, Damien Gaudin and Lloyd Mondory will be the team leaders in the harder races while Hutarovich and Davide Appollonio will focus on the first and last race that may end in sprint finishes.
Finally, the team will line up in an important home race when they head to Corsica for the two-day Criterium International over the weekend. The team will be led by Peraud who will excel on the traditional course that contains both a time trial and a mountaintop finish. He will have excellent support from climbers Hupert Dupont and Alexis Vuillermoz while Alpe d'Huez winner Christophe Riblon will use the race to continue his form-building process.
Ag2r-La Mondiale for Classique Loire Atlantique:
Yauheni Hutarovich, Gediminas Bagdonas, Maxime Daniel, Julien Berard, Christophe Riblon, Alexis Gougeard, and Axel Domont
Ag2r-La Mondiale for Cholet-Pays De Loire:
Yauheni Hutarovich, Gediminas Bagdonas, Julien Berard, Christophe Riblon, Alexis Gougeard, Sebatien Turgot, Damien Gaudin and Hubert Dupont
Ag2r-La Mondiale for Volta a Catalunya:
Carlos Betancur, Domenico Pozzovivo, Romain Bardet, Mikael Cherel, Sebastien Minard, Ben Gastauer, Samuel Dumoulin, and Julian Kern
Ag2r-La Mondiale for Dwars door Vlaanderen:
Yauheni Hutarovich, Damien Gaudien, Lloyd Mondory, Hugo Houle, Gediminas Bagdonas, Davide Appollonio, Steve Chainel, and Maxime Daniel
Ag2r-La Mondiale for E3 Harelbeke:
Sebastien Turgot, Damien Gaudien, Lloyd Mondory, Hugo Houle, Gediminas Bagdonas, Davide Appollonio, Steve Chainel, and Maxime Daniel
Ag2r-La Mondiale for Gent-Wevelgem (final selection to be determined):
Yauheni Hutarovich, Sebastien TurgotDamien Gaudien, Lloyd Mondory, Hugo Houle, Gediminas Bagdonas, Davide Appollonio, Steve Chainel, and Maxime Daniel
Ag2r-La Mondiale for Criterium International:
Jean-Christophe Peraud, Hubert Dupont, Christophe Riblon, Alexis Vuillermoz, Guillaume Bonnafond, Julien Berard, Alexis Gougeard, and Axel Domont
Steven DE JONGH 51 years | today |
Lucas SCHÄDLICH 36 years | today |
Noel MCGLYNN 48 years | today |
Chiara SACCHI 20 years | today |
Andreas MUELLER 45 years | today |
© CyclingQuotes.com