Management

AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM) - FRA

After a fairly low-key 2012 in which they took just seven victories, none of them in the UCI WorldTour, veteran French squad AG2R La Mondiale will have a significant increase in rider firepower in 2013, in all areas from bunch sprints to the overall in Grand Tours.

Arguably the most high profile signing is that of Domenico Pozzovivo. The southern Italian climber is as talented academically - he has a PhD in economics - as he is on the bike, taking eighth overall in last year’s Giro d'Italia as well as a spectacular mountain stage win. AG2R La Mondiale's interest in signing the 30-year-old is that Pozzovivo should boost their presence in week-long stage races and the Grand Tours, with the Giro d’Italia almost certainly one key target.

The arrival of Yauheni Hutarovich could be equally important. The Belarus National Champion is one of Eastern Europe’s most talented sprinters - inflicting a rare defeat on no less a star than Mark Cavendish in a memorable bunch sprint in the first week of the 2010 Vuelta. Hutarovich is equally at home in the Belgian Classics and one-day races so is definitely a rider to watch.

Julian Kern, bronze medalist in the 2012 German National Championships is an exciting prospect for the future and the same goes for former Team Sky sprinter Davide Appollonio and young Canadian Hugo Houle. The return of breakaway specialist and former Tour de France stage winner Samuel Dumoulin to his former team after five years with Cofidis should also secure AG2R La Mondiale a higher profile in the week-long events.

Lithuanian Gediminas Bagdonas, with 25 wins in his palmares in non UCI WorldTour races of all types, is another talented all-rounder moving back into cycling’s top category who is likely to be heading towards the victory podium again in 2013.

With such a big influx of new talent, no less than 11 riders are leaving. Veteran sprinter Jimmy Casper retires after a career including a Tour de France stage win in 2006, all-rounder Sebastian Hinault heads to IAM Cycling and Grand Tour contender Nicolas Roche, who took twelfth in last year’s Tour de France, moves over to Saxo Tinkoff. So with a turnover of around 40 percent of their riders, AG2R La Mondiale is clearly gambling on a very different level of performance in 2013.