AG2R Citroën – the new 2021 name for the current AG2R La Mondiale squad – have completed their roster for next season with the signing of 23-year-old French rider Nicolas Prodhomme, the team has announced.
Prodhomme is a former member of AG2R feeder team Chambéry Cyclisme Formation, but rode the 2020 season for domestic French team Villefranche Beaujolais, and then rode the Tour du Doubs, Paris-Camembert, Paris-Chauny and Paris-Tours in September and October as a stagiaire for French WorldTour team Cofidis.
However, it's the AG2R WorldTour outfit that has secured Prodhomme's signature for the next two seasons.
"I spent two great years at Chambéry Cyclisme Formation [in 2018 and 2019] before joining the Villefranche Beaujolais club," Prodhomme said in a press release. "After this unusual year, I am happy to join the professionals with the AG2R Citroën team. It's a childhood dream come true to be stepping up to WorldTour level."
Prodhomme also rode for AG2R as a stagiaire in 2018, and so already knows a number of the riders there, including some fellow alumni from Chambéry.
"I'm joining a team that I know well, and I'm proud to be part of this adventure. I'll also be rejoining former riders from Chambéry, like Clément Champoussin and Anthony Jullien, with whom I've raced," he said.
AG2R team manager Vincent Lavenu added: "Nicolas is an excellent rider. He was one of the pillars of the French national team, and seeing him reach the professionals ranks is the next logical step.
"He should have joined us in 2020, but it wasn't possible," he continued. "He wore the Chambéry Cyclisme Formation jersey for two seasons, where he was a foundation rider for the team, before joining Villefranche.
"I'm happy to see him return to riding in our colours, and his arrival completes our recruitment for the 2021 season," Lavenu said.
Prodhomme becomes the 11th and last new signing for the team, with other notable signees for next year including reigning Olympic road race champion Greg Van Avermaet from CCC Team, Bob Jungels, who joins from Deceuninck-QuickStep, and recent Giro d'Italia stage winner Ben O'Connor from NTT Pro Cycling.
The team will also say good-bye to a number of long-serving riders, including Pierre Latour, Alexis Vuillermoz and Alexandre Geniez – who will all join French ProTeam Total Direct Energie – and Romain Bardet, who heads to Sunweb.
