Larry Warbasse: "It's really important to do the Tour de France before the end of my career"

Having found a home at AG2R Citroën Team Larry Warbasse still has big objectives in his career. In a recent interview he has talked about his ambitions for 2023 and a possible Tour de France debut.

“It's an important year for the team. It's the first year of this new cycle of points and everything, so a lot of changes in cycling this year. So for us, it's really important to get off to a good start," Warbasse said in an in interview with Cyclingnews. "Guys like Greg [Van Avermaet] and Oliver [Naesen], they haven't had as good as seasons as they were hoping for the last couple of years. For a lot of guys on the team, it's a contract year. I've seen a lot of really motivated guys this training camp, and I think it's going to be a good year. So I'm excited to see what we can do for the year.”

The French team has over the last years undergone a transformation to support it's new GC star Ben O'Connor, and Warbasse plans on having the legs to be a part of the team's block for the Tour. The 32-year old started out his season at the GP La Marseillaise and is currently at the Etoile de Bessèges, and he tells the upcoming goals for his spring.

“Paris-Nice is the first big objective of the season. I’m looking forward to that. And then I’ll do Sanremo and the Giro for the first part of the year. My first five months of racing are pretty jam-packed. I might do all the Ardennes with Benoît [Cosnefroy], our leader," he reveals. "I really enjoy racing with him, just a great leader and racer. He’s one of the big favourites for the Ardennes. For us, that’s really important.”

The American has been racing at the highest level of the sport since 2013 and has competed in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana four times each. However, he has not yet taken part in the Grand Boucle, and having the team's ambitions in the mountains may play a role as he looks to perform over the spring in order to try and gain a spot at the Tour.

“It's definitely something I aim for," he states. "It's really important to do the Tour de France before the end of my career, either this year or next year, because otherwise, it's getting a bit late. I think if the Giro goes really well, there's always a possibility. So I'm just gonna really focus on the Giro for the first part of the year. That's definitely one of the most important things on the bucket list,”

“I would rather go to the Tour de France than try for a second national title, but we'll see. We'll see what happens," he concluded.