Swiss rider Steve Morabito (FDJ) waves the fans(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
William Bonnet (FDJ) and George Bennett crashed but were OK(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
The FDJ team has announced their nine-man line-up for the Giro d'Italia, with a large contingent of Thibaut Pinot's 2016 Tour de France teammates joining the Frenchman as he turns his attentions to the Italian Grand Tour.
The Swiss duo of Sebastien Reichenbach and Steve Morabito will be Pinot's key domestiques on the important mountain stages, many of which are crammed into the third week of the race.
Also part of last year's Tour de France line-up were Jeremy Roy, William Bonnet, and Mathieu Ladagnous – a trio that will bring experience to the team with a combined age of 99 and a combined Grand Tour count of 36.
Indeed, experience is a theme, and the team has an average age of just over 30, driven up by 35-year-old Benoit Vaugrenard, who rode the 2015 Tour with Pinot. The quartet of Vaugrenard, Roy, Bonnet, and Ladagnous is billed by the team as a unit that Pinot "knows by heart", with Roy having shared 328 race days with his leader and the others around 150 each.
Completing the line-up are two new signings, Tobias Ludvigsson and Rudy Molard. The former has joined from the Sunweb team and will add horsepower on the flat, while the latter is something of an all-rounder who has thrived so far in his first season away from Cofidis.
"Thibaut is super motivated. He's in great form and he's surrounded by a great team. The level is high but the competition doesn't frighten him," said directeur sportif, Martial Gayant. "For sure we're going into this Giro full of ambition, but I will leave Marc Madiot and Thibaut to speak about the objectives of the team during the pre-race press conference."
FDJ for the Giro d'Italia: Thibaut Pinot, Steve Morabito, Sébastien Reichenbach, Rudy Molard, Tobias Ludvigsson, William Bonnet, Matthieu Ladagnous, Jérémy Roy and Benoit Vaugrenard.
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Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.
