Bryan Coquard does not know with what team he will compete in 2016. The French sprinter has indicated that his preferred choice would be to remain under Jean-René Bernaudeau, but the deadline is expected this weekend.

He was interviewed by Cyclingnews in Norway. “I don’t know what my plans are for next year yet. Maybe Jean-René will have a big sponsor but I think it will be finalised this week. After another week, though, it’s going to be hard for me to stand by without signing for another team. At the moment I’m at Europcar and that’s my first plan for next year. Teams have called me for next year but I want to stay here if Jean-René can find a sponsor.”

He added that the World Tour licence is not an obligation for him. “For me it’s not a problem if we’re WorldTour or Pro Conti, so long as we can get into the major races like Paris-Nice, Amstel and the Tour de France. At the moment it’s Europcar for me.”

Directeur sportif Andy Flickinger added that Jean-René Bernaudeau would have a team for the next season. “We want to be in the WorldTour so we’re looking for a sponsor. Right now we don’t have one and it’s hard to talk to big companies in France in August because most people are on holidays but we’re confident for next year,” Flickinger told Cyclingnews. ”We’ll continue next year at ProContinental level even if we don’t have that major sponsor.”