Jeremy Roy is known as a loyal support rider and is happy to continue in that role with FDJ.fr in 2014. However, he will get his own chance to excel whenever there is a time trial on the schedule and he dreams about winning his national time trial crown after twice being beaten into 2nd by Sylvain Chavanel.

With only 4 professional wins on his palmares - among those a highly prestigious victory in the Paris-Nice - Jeremy Roy is not the most prolific winner of the professional peloton. However, he is known as a loyal domestique who has played an integral role in the rise of FDJ.fr in 2013.

In 2013, the French team emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the biggest races in the calendar and won no less than 33 races in what was a highly successful season. While he did not add to the tally himself, Roy was a crucial part of the success when he escorted the climbers through the flat and medium mountain stages and chased down breakaways for his sprinters.

In an interview with La Nouvelle Republique, Roy reveals that he is happy to again play the role of domestique in 2014 when he will be tasked with the job of safely protecting Thibaut Pinot in the grand tours and assisting Arnaud Demare and Nacer Bouhanni in the flat races. His pedigree as a support rider has earned him selection for the Tour de France every year since 2008 but he admits that the battle for a spot on the roster for the biggest race is fierce.

"Nothing is guaranteed," he said. "The young riders improve and have plenty of desire, it is normal."

While he is happy to be a support rider for most of the year, Roy will get a chance to go for personal glory in the time trials. In 2013, he proved his abilities in the discipline when he finished 8th in the long time trial in the Tour de France, 2nd in the Etoile de Besseges, 5th in the Tour Mediteraneen, 5th in the Bayern Rundfahrt and 2nd in his national championships.

In the latter race, he was beaten into second by Sylvain Chavanel for the second year in a row and the tricolour jersey is his main objective in 2014. The national championships will be held in Futuroscope near his home but he will again have to beat Chavanel who will also be riding in his home area. In 2012, he was, however, only beaten by 12 seconds and he hopes to get the better of one of the national stars in the future.

Roy will start his season in the Etoile de Besseges and will do the Tour Mediteraneen, the Classic Sud-Ardeche and the Drome Classic as he continues to ride in his native France. He will then head to the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen where the overall classification is often determined by the opening time trial before doing his first major race at the Volta a Catalunya.

Roy's last win came at the 2012 Tour de Limousin where he won the 4th stage.