Brice Feillu is one of several Sojasun riders who have faced difficulties finding a new team following the demise of his current squad. However, the former stage winner of the Tour de France is now confident that he will resolve his situation in the near future and expects to have a formal response from a team next week.

When he won the big mountain stage to Andorra in the 2009 Tour de France, Brice Feillu was seen as the next big French climber. During stints at Vacansoleil, Leopard-Trek and Sojasun, the Frenchman has, however, been unable to fulfil those lofty promises and has been unable to win a single race since that glorious day in the Pyrenees.

That lack of results may have contributed to the difficult situation he finds himself in at the moment. With the demise of Sojasun and four other professional teams, he is one of several riders who has been searching desperately for a new team but so far he has had little success.

At one point, he was rumoured to be joining his brother Romain at Bretagne after the current Vacansoleil rider inked a deal with the Breton squad. However, those rumours were never confirmed and a premature retirement has been looming in the horizon for the 28-year-old.

In an interview with Velo101, Feillu is, however, now more optimistic and claims that a solution could be found in the near future.

"I'm still waiting," he said. "The situation hasn't changed since the end of the season but now my search is progressing well. It is a concrete interest and I should have a formal response next week. So far I haven't signed a contract but I am on track."

Unlike many other, Feillu is not relying on the services of an agent.

"No, I have no agent," he said. "I'm doing it on my own because it doesn't bother me to take my phone and make a call. I try to sell myself in a very difficult situation. I've not had a terrible season but I still have things to prove. At 28, I'm still young, in the middle of my career, and I do not want to stop here. I'm not dead at all. That's what I try to tell the team managers. I know it is getting late but I am confident that it can be resolved soon."

Feillu didn't have a great 2013 season. His main target was the Tour de France and he seemed to have reached peak condition for the French race. However, injury prevented him from performing at his best during those three weeks in July and he never managed to make amends in the second half of the season.

"It wasn't really terrible," he said. "Surely, I have not had much success but I also relied heavily on the Tour de France. If it had worked for me, I would have had a great season, only based on the month of July. But I didn't have much success. I did it in this way, it did not work, but we had to try."

"This year I had the head everywhere," he added. "I moved into a new house, I became a father, there were many changes in my life. Cycling is a big part in my life but it is not the only thing. I know that I will be calmer next year. I will focus on other goals and try to fight already in the month of February."

While Feillu may have to end his life as a professional cyclist earlier than planned, he has no intentions of ending his sporting career.

"I would do triathlon," he said. "It is a discipline that I love. I'm good at swimming and I have always liked it. I think I can really do something good in triathlon."

Feillu is not the only Sojasun rider who is in a difficult situation. Only 11 riders have found a new team while Yannick Talabardon and Jean-Marc Marino have announced their retirement.

"At this time of the year, we are a family although most of us have now resumed our training," he said. "I have some good news from guys like Anthony Delaplace and Christophe Laborie who will join Bretagne while Julien El Fares and Remi Pauriol have found nothing yet. It is difficult for everyone. Everybody is looking for a place for himself."

Feillu has now resumed training after having ended his season in Paris-Bourges on October 10.