Amaël Moinard (Cofidis) shades out Thomas Voeckler (Bbox Bouygues Telecom)(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
French hope Christophe Le Mevel (FDJ) makes his way across the line(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Amaël Moinard expects to have less freedom to chase his own results at BMC than he did at Cofidis, but the Frenchman insists that is happy to work for his new team’s leaders.
“It’s going to change my approach to races, but that’s no problem,” Moinard told L’Équipe. “I’m certain that there is plenty to learn by rubbing shoulders with riders like Evans, Hincapie and Ballan.”
Moinard turned professional with Cofidis in 2005 and his best results there were an impressive 14th place in his debut Tour de France in 2008 and a stage win at Paris-Nice last season. After six seasons with the team, however, the time had come for Moinard to move on, and he is enthusiastic about some of the novelties he came across at BMC’s first training camp in Calpe, Spain.
“At the camp in Spain in December, we trained using our earpiece to repeat certain exercises,” he explained. “I’d never come across that before.”
Moinard begins his 2011 season at the Tour Down Under, before making his European bow in BMC colours at the Trofeo Laigueglia on February 19.
Le Mével building towards Giro d’Italia
Another Frenchman on the move in 2011 is Christophe Le Mével, who swaps FDJ colours for Garmin-Cervélo. He will begin his season at the Tour of the Mediterranean and follow a largely French-based programme ahead of the Ardennes Classics and the Giro d’Italia.
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“It’s exactly the programme that I wanted,” Le Mével told L’Équipe. “It’s perfect for building up well to the Giro d’Italia, where I’d like to do well on the general classification.”
Le Mével will co-lead Garmin-Cervélo’s Giro challenge with Irishman Dan Martin, and he has already had the opportunity to meet with his new teammates at the squad’s December training camp. Like Moinard, he was impressed by what he saw.
“When I saw that Garmin was organising its first gathering on the Cayman Islands, I said to myself that this was a big team,” he admitted.
After training at home over the Christmas period, Le Mével will rejoin his new team in Calpe for their second training camp, from January 9-19 and he is looking forward to availing of the opportunity to improve on his time trialling.
“I’m especially going to be working on my position on the bike,” Le Mével said.
Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
