Jesse Sergent, who joined Ag2r La Mondiale this winter, has explained why he opted for the French team after five years with the Trek Factory team. Interviewed by Cyclingnews, he said also that he is aiming for a start at the Tour de France.

With RadioShack and Trek, he had a supporting role but with Vincent Lavenu's team, he will have the possibility to chase results. "It just felt like the team wanted me for me, and being a New Zealander they just wanted someone a bit different to make the team a little bit more international. So all those things were something I liked, and helped to make the decision."

“I’ve got a Classics programme now for the moment, and at races like Tirreno-Adriatico, it will be about looking after the leaders. But then there are races where hopefully I can target some shorter time trials and prologues, stuff like that, and hopefully get a bit more time on my time trial bike. I’d like to prepare for those races, so hopefully there’ll be a bit of freedom in that respect.”

He hopes to improve his French before July and the 27-year-old rider wants to make his Tour de France debut. "It’s definitely something that I want to do. The team’s put me on their longlist. It’s on my programme, or at least my programme gives me the opportunity – if I’m good enough, I’ll get selected to go."

This summer he wants to represent his country at the Olympic Games. "The road race is definitely way too hard but the time trial is something I’d like to go for. It depends a bit with the Tour and the selection. We’ve got two spots but it sounds like they’re only going to bring one rider."