Yesterday it was announced that former U23 world champion Romain Sicard has signed a contract with Europcar for the 2014 season. Following a couple of injury-plagued season, the young Frenchman improved in 2013 and hopes to continue his progress with his new French team.

When Romain Sicard won the UER world championships in 2009, a great future was expected for the young Frenchman but his professional career got off to a troubled start. Injuries made him unable to compete for a long time and the talented Frenchman has never lived up to his lofty promises.

Things only got more complicated when it was announced that his Euskaltel team would fold at the end of the season but yesterday a lifeline was thrown by Europcar manager Jean-Rene Bernaudeau with whom he signed a contract for the 2014 season.

Sicard burst onto the scene in 2009 when he won both the Tour de l'Avenir and the U23 world championships ahead of riders like Carlos Betancur, Tejay van Garderen and Thibaut Pinot but much to the frustration of the French public, he chose to sign a contract with the Spanish Euskaltel team for the 2010 season. Hailing from the French part of the Basque Country, the signing of the Frenchman was in accordance with the rules of the team that only allowed the management to sign riders from the region or who had a certain connection to the region.

Sicard got his career off to a good start when he finished 2nd on a big mountain stage in the 2010 Criterium du Dauphiné but his progress stalled when he started to suffer from an injury in his left leg. He barely raced in 2011 but this year he has got his career back on track. He finished his first Tour de France in the summer and was 12th in the Eneco Tour.

Sicard admits that he has been through a difficult time.

"The situation was difficult because there were doubts," he told Biciciclismo in an interview. "The first year I adapted well to the WorldTour but then I have had many physical problems. I do not want to look back but forward. I am a new rider and want to keep improving. There have been hard moments where I have been unable to perform at my best and this makes me value things more. You learn to cope with problems that affect you and to appreciate the sacrifices and the people that support you."

However, he feels that things are now improving.

"This year I gradually started to feel better on the bike, especially after the Tour," he said. "It raised my level and I was 12th in the Eneco Tour. I am very excited and hopes to move forward at the highest level to complete my development."

Sicard will get the chance to ride with French stars Thomas Voeckler and Pierre Rolland on his new team which hopes to get a ProTeam license for the coming season. The former world champion sees it as the perfect place to continue his progress.

 "I had a very tough schedule this year and I know how difficult the WorldTour is," he said. "First, my intention is to adapt to the team and its goals, and then try to prove that I can compete in the big races. The team has great riders with an excellent palmares like Voeckler and Rolland. They are also very experienced and so I can learn a lot from them. There's also a fast rider like [Bryan] Coquard."

Sicard is the sixth Euskaltel rider to find a new team. Mikel Landa (Astana), Mikel Nieve (Sky), Ricardo Mestre (Efapel-Glassdrive), Gorka and Ion Izagirre (Movistar) have all signed new contracts while Mikel Astarloza has ended his career.