Ag2r have selected a versatile roster for the Vuelta a Espana and will be able to target stage victories in all terrains. While Carlos Betancur will go into the race with a focus on building his form, Hubrt Dupont and Maxime Bouet will be riding for GC while Yauheni Hutarovich and Lloyd Mondory will target the sprints.

 

Ag2r will go into the Vuelta a Espana with a much different mindset than originally planned. Instead of riding for a potential podium spot for Domenico Pozzovivo, the team will have an opportunitic approach and is unlikely to play the same dominant role they did in the Giro and Tour.

 

Pozzovivo suffered a bad crash in training while he was preparing for the Vuelta a Burgos and a fractured leg has ended his season prematurely. Instead, Hubert Dupont and Maxime Bouet will take over the role as GC riders for the French team and both will have their eyes set on a spot in the top 15.

 

With Pozzovivo out of the roster, their will be more focus on the sprints where Yauheni Hutarovich will return to grand tour action after a one-year absence. The Belarusian recently won a stage of the Tour of Poland and is a former stage winner in Spain. He will target the flat stages while recent Vuelta a Burgos stage winner Lloyd Mondory will be given the chance in the sprints on the harder stages. They can both realy on support from an in-form Sebastien Turgot who will ride his first grand tour for the team.

 

The big name on the roster is Carlos Betancur who was originally set to focus on the Tour de France but forfeited his participation due to illness. After some controversies with his team, he is set to jump the ship at the end of the season and has been linked with a move to the Etixx-Quick Step team.

 

Betancur recently returned to racing in the Vuelta a Burgos where he ended last in the general classification after crashing in stage 1 and admits that he is far from his best condition. He will use the race to prepare for the Worlds, Il Lombardia and the Tour of Beijing and hopes to win a stage in the final week when he has - hopefully - built some form.

 

Rinaldo Nocentini will target stage wins in the mountains and in the intermediate stages after he has rebuilt his form following injury. The team is completed by time trial specialists Patrick Gretsch and Damien Gaudin.

 

Ag2r for the Vuelta a Espana:

·         Carlos BETANCUR (Colombia)
·         Maxime BOUET (France)
·         Hubert DUPONT (France)
·         Damien GAUDIN (France)
·         Patrick GRETSCH (Germany)
·         Yauheni HUTAROVICH (Belarus)
·         Lloyd MONDORY (France)
·         Rinaldo NOCENTINI (Italy)
·         Sébastien TURGOT (France)