After FDJ lost Nacer Bouhanni this offseason, Marc Madiot, team manager, brought in 20-year-old Lorenzo Manzin, who he says he wants to develop to become the next Nacer Bouhanni in the team.
He is making his WorldTour debut Down Under and is the second youngest rider in the race after Robert Power, racing for the national team. He hails from the Reunion Island, which is a French Province.
He spoke to Cyclingnews to tell them a little bit about himself and what kind of a sprinter is, sounding a little bit like Bouhanni already when discussing his characteristics.
"This is my debut in the World Tour," Manzin told Cyclingnews in Adelaide. "It'll allow me to see the gap I yet have to fill up to compete against the world's top sprinters. I look forward to discover the level and the way of sprinting. I've trained pretty hard for my first pro season but now I want to know where I stand. I'm a puncheur-sprinter and I like sprinting in hills like there are on the course here. We'll draw the first conclusions of my competences in the evening of January 25."
"I'm not racing under any pressure except the one I'm putting on myself," he added. "I'm not physically ready at 200% either. I want to be competitive all year. I have a lot of French cup races on my agenda. I will push my limits and I aim at improving every year, following a career plan. FDJ has signed two sprinters as neo-pros [Marc Sarreau is the other one]. The goal is replace Bouhanni but it's not written when we have to perform at that level. Nacer won one of his first races in Gabon but it also took some time until he became a regular winner at international pro level. Not everyone can win as young as Caleb Ewan does."
Manzin and Ewan may be great rivals in the future with similar qualities, and Lorenzo Manzin will certainly be a name to remember.
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