La Française des Jeux will be the first French ProTeam to take up racing again in 2006, as it is sending a rider roster to compete in the Tropicale Amissa Bongo stage race in Gabon on the West coast of Africa from January 12-15. Christophe Mengin, Frédéric Guesdon, Arnaud Gérard, Lilian Jégou, Jussi Veikkanen and Christophe Detilloux will be participating in the 450 km-long event, which also attracted French Elite teams VC La Pomme and VC Roubaix, as well as Jartazi, CAPEC and a Luxembourg national team. AG2R, Bouygues Telecom and Crédit Agricole will start their season at the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under from January 17-22.
