AG2R La Mondiale have been going through something of a transformation over the past two seasons, trying to change their image within cycling. They had been regarded as lacking ambition, a team that was happy to put up a decent showing in the French races and to cobble together just enough World Tour points to avoid relegation from the top tier of cycling. It wasn’t always a fair criticism but there was an element of truth to it, and as a result the team saw the departure of several key riders and the recruitment and development of a new group of leaders. This year, if all goes to plan, they will go to the Tour de France with a stronger and more attack minded team than they have had in recent years, with a trio of genuine leaders, one of whom is a veteran while the others are exciting talents. The first of these leaders is thirty six year old Jean-Christophe Peraud, the former mountain biker came to the road late, only turning professional in 2010. He has proven himself to be a classic GC rider, a strong climber and very good time trialist, consistent but rarely posing a stage win threat. Peraud finished 9th overall in the 2011 Tour de France but crashes have robbed him of a chance to repeat that level of performance, last season he was sitting in 9th place when forced out of the race, robbing the team of its GC presence.The presence of that long ITT on the penultimate day will suit Peraud who should be able to claw back time on some of the other GC riders on that day, certainly another top ten finish seems possible.
Alongside and potentially eclipsing Peraud at the Tour de France should be Carlos Betancur, 24, an explosive Colombian climber who is entering his second season at AG2R. Betancur was sensational for a two month spell in 2013, finding form at the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco and keeping it until the end of the Giro d’Italia. Betancur finished 7th overall in the Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, having been 2nd on the 3rd stage after an epic slow motion sprint against Sergio Henao on a seriously steep finish. After that came the Ardennes and a 3rd place finish in La Fleche Wallonne, where he attacked too early, and a 4th place finish in Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Then the Giro where he finished 5th overall, won the White Jersey, recorded three 2nd place finishes and five top 4 finishes in total, a hugely impressive performance from the 23 year old. This season Betancur is aiming to return to the Ardennes in fine form and will then focus on the Tour de France, where he should excel, though the long ITT will be a concern. The third lead rider for the Tour de France should be Romain Bardet, 23. The gifted French climber finished 15th on his Tour de France debut in 2013 and will likely return as the team’s third option this year as part of his development into a true leader.
Last season AG2R added Italian Domenico Pozzovivo, 31, giving him a very belated debut as a World Tour rider and hoping that could improve the team’s results outside of France. Having previously recorded 8th and 9th overall finishes in the Giro, he will have been disappointed to finish 10th in 2013 while hampered by injuries, however he finished the season strong, with a 6th overall finish in the Vuelta and being much more involved in the racing. The diminutive Pozzovivo is one of the smallest riders in the peloton and very much a pure climber who is at his best when the climbs get steep. Despite his size he has proven to be able to hold his own against the clock, though his 3rd place finish in an ITT during the Vuelta was definitely better than normal from him. This year the first half of his season will again be aimed at success in the Giro, where he will hope to record his best ever finish. Veteran French rider Christophe Riblon, 33, has spent his entire career with AG2R. An attacking climber who has a proven ability to launch long range attacks in the mountains, winning two superb stages in the Tour de France that way; the first on Ax 3 Domaines in 2010, and the second on L’Alpe d’Huez last season. Riblon is at his best from a break, and has never shown the ability to remain competitive over a three week race, but he can be a contender for some of the shorter stage races. To support their leaders AG2R have a number of experienced climbing domestiques such as Maxime Bouet, Hubert Dupont, Matteo Montaguti, Mikael Cherel and Guillaume Bonnafond.
As well as the purer climbers listed above, AG2R always seem to have a number of strong all-rounders, riders who excel on the more rolling or hilly terrain, and make for excellent breakaway candidates as well as useful domestiques. The most notable of these riders is the veteran Italian Rinaldo Nocentini, 36, a good climber in his own right he finished 12th overall in the 2009 Tour de France. However Nocentini comes into his own on the shorter punchier climbs and can be competitive in the uphill sprints, making him an excellent one-day classic contender. In 2013 Nocentini was 3rd in Strade Bianche, 10th in La Fleche Wallonne, 13th in Liege-Bastogne-Liege, 2nd on uphill sprint stages in both the Vuelta a Burgos and Vuelta a Espana. Blel Kadri is a decent support climber but a more natural puncheur, as he showed when taking a fine solo win in Roma Maxima last season. Kadri started the Tour de France in fine form, escaping in breaks and managing to take the KoM jersey prior to the tour reaching the mountains proper. Powerful German time trialist Patrick Gretsch joins from Giant-Shimano, seeking a little more freedom to show his own skills outside of the ITTs and will be an asset to the leaders on the flatter stages. German Julian Kern, 24, enters his second professional season and will be hoping to start producing results, the former u23 European Champion is a promising puncheur. Other all rounders include Luxembourger Ben Gastauer, Canadian Hugo Houle, and promising French rider Axel Domont.
AG2R have a few fast men who are capable of picking up stage wins, but they lack a dominant sprinter. The diminutive veteran French sprinter Samuel Dumoulin, 33, took their only sprint victories in 2013. While Dumoulin struggles against the more powerful sprinters in the biggest bunch sprints, his size is a definite asset when climbing making him a strong opportunistic sprinter. Belarusian strongman sprinter Yauheni Hutarovich is a versatile and opportunistic sprinter capable of contesting the tougher sprint stages. Italian Davide Appollonio, 24, looked to be a highly promising young sprinter when he first made his name in the 2010 and 211 seasons, but the results and performances have cooled since then. AG2R also have the experienced Lloyd Mondory, young French sprinter Maxime Daniel and Lithuanian Gediminas Bagdonas as sprint or leadout out options.
A reinforced Classics unit.
Over the last few seasons AG2R have struggled to make a real impact in the Cobbled Classics, as a result the team have signed two strong riders who address that weakness. Experienced French classics specialist and strongman sprinter Sebastien Turgot, 29, joins from Europcar. In the past two seasons Turgot has finished 2nd (2012) and 10th (2013) in Paris-Roubaix, 8th in Ronde van Vaanderen (2013) and twice 10th in E3 Harelbeke. His 10th place finish in the most recent Hell of the North was impressive considering he suffered a puncture that forced him to lose contact with the lead group towards the end of the race. While Turgot will spend much of the season acting as a sprinter and working for the other sprinters, the team signed him for his Classics pedigree and that is where he will be expected to make an impact. Also joining from Europcar is Damien Gaudin, 27, a powerful rider and strong time trialist. Gaudin had an excellent Paris-Roubaix in 2013, finishing 5th after a race full of attacking riding as he wrestled his way clear of the peloton. Last season they added cyclo-cross rider Steve Chainel as a leader for the Classics, in 2012 Chainel had finished 8th in Gent-Wevelgem and 16th in Paris-Roubaix, then in 2013 for AG2R he was 17th in Paris Roubaix. Chainel will return to the cobbled races in 2014 alongside Turgot and Gaudin, as part of a stronger line-up for AG2R. The classics team will also include a number of the more physical sprinters, with Mondory, Hutarovich and Bagdonas all showing some degree of skill on the pave.
2014 outlook
AG2t La Mondiale are gearing up for success throughout the season with success in the Tour de France set to be the main objective given the strength of their lead riders. Expect to see them animate the racing throughout the spring, with Turgot and Gaudin on the pave, then Betancur, Nocentini and Bardet in the Ardennes. With the climbers at their disposal the team should also be competitive in many of the shorter stage races, Paris-Nice and the Criterium du Dauphine in particular.
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