Nearly all teams have already made their mark on the transfer market, but there are also teams where things have remained fairly quiet so far. AG2R Citroën, the French team, belongs to the latter category, appearing to opt for a somewhat different direction after 2023. IDLProCycling.com gives their verdict!
Just about all teams have already made their presence felt in the transfer market, but there are also teams where things remain fairly quiet for the time being. The latter category includes France's AG2R Citroën, where they appear to be partially opting for a different course after 2023. In the Leader's Jersey reviews!
With Greg Van Avermaet and Oliver Naesen, the team has been aiming for success in the Flemish classics for some years now, but 2023 has proven to be a difficult challenge once again. In a spring dominated by Jumbo-Visma, Mathieu van der Poel, and Tadej Pogačar, it is simply hard for the 'smaller' teams to get a foothold.
Dorian Godon managed to win the prestigious Brabantse Pijl for the French team, while hill specialist Benoit Cosnefroy, despite a strong performance in the same race, did not get anywhere in the races that really matter. At a lower level, victories were also secured at the Trofeo Laigueglia (Nans Peters), Boucles de l'Aulne (Van Avermaet), and Giro del Veneto (Godon).
The tours have traditionally been the strength of Vincent Lavenu's team, and 2023 was no different. Particularly Paris-Nice, the Critérium du Dauphiné, and of course the Tour de France are significant for the French team, and they showed some good performances. Ben O'Connor finished on the podium for the second year in a row in the Dauphiné, while teammate Felix Gall won a stage and finished eighth in the Tour de Suisse during that period.
In the Tour de France, the two climbers started with considerable confidence, though O'Connor didn't seem to have his best legs from the first weekend. It appeared to be the same for Gall, but he made a formidable comeback as the race went on. The Austrian ultimately won the queen stage over the Col de la Loze, marking a stunning stage victory in a mountain stage for the third consecutive year (following O'Connor and Bob Jungels). An eighth place in the general classification, a third place in the youth classification, and a second place in the mountain classification marked a successful tour for Gall. And of course, for Lavenu and Julien Jurdie as well.
Aurélien Paret-Peintre achieved an early stage victory in the Giro d'Italia, allowing AG2R Citroën to approach the rest of the race with relative ease. However, the Vuelta was rather lackluster.
Overall, the French can just about be satisfied with their season. It wasn't spectacular, but Felix Gall's formidable performance in the Tour de France means that the (former) editorial team gives them a score of 5.7.
Simply put: the AG2R Citroën Team has not announced any incoming transfers for 2024 yet, although the team seems poised to secure two big names for the upcoming season with Victor Lafay and Sam Bennett. Until the team officially confirms this, we are not including this yet.
What is certain is that Van Avermaet is now a retired cyclist, so we will not see him in the French team's jersey in 2024. Mickaël Cherel and Michael Schär have also retired. In addition, the fast men Clément Venturini (Arkéa) and Marc Sarreau (Groupama-FDJ) are moving on from the team.
Incoming: -
(Provisional) outgoing: Greg Van Avermaet, Mickaël Cherel, Michael Schär (retiring), Clément Venturini (Arkéa-Samsic) and Marc Sarreau (Groupama-FDJ)
AG2R Citroën will want to do better in 2024 than the past year, but the team would gladly replicate a performance like Gall's from June and July. It will certainly be interesting to see how the climber from Austria will continue to develop next season and in which races he will become the team leader.
It also remains to be seen who will step up in the spring races. With Stan Dewulf and Cosnefroy, the team has two riders who have been on the brink for some time, but for whom it has been difficult to achieve that breakout performance in a (semi)classic. And of course, there's the ever-reliable Olli Naesen.
For the rest, we can expect guys like Geoffrey Bouchard, Franck Bonnamour and also Peters to be back at the front a lot after a somewhat weaker season.