Lilian Calmejane spearheads strong AG2R Citroën for Tour de la Provence

The Tour de la Provence starts on the 10th and will have a diverse set of stages for all kinds of riders. Although many see it as a preparation race, there are many points, glory and wins available and one of the teams who will be hunting them will be the AG2R Citroën Team.

The team is particularly fond of the chances of Lilian Calmejane, although Aurélien Paret-Peintre is likely to be the leader in the race: "My return to racing at the Grand Prix Cycliste La Marseillaise and the Etoile de Bessèges – Tour du Gard went well. I feel in good condition, building on the momentum from the end of last season."

"I worked well throughout the winter and I’m in a good place. The Tour de la Provence is a race that I know well. The past few years, the course has changed, and it is more difficult for me to go for the overall, like in 2016 (3rd). Nevertheless, we will have a strong team and with the stages on the program, there are great things to do. I hope to step it up a notch to tackle the Boucles Drôme-Ardèche weekend well, which are two races that I have already won. Then I’ll head to my first UCI WorldTour races of the year with the Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico," Calmejane said regarding his near ambitions.

With the overall likely to be decided in the final stage up to Montagne du Lure, the team carries several options besides Calmejane, such as Paret-Peintre who's been steadily improving into a quality stage-racer over the last few years and also Geoffrey Bouchard who's taken the KOM jersey at the Giro d'Italia last year and finished a decent 14th place in the Vuelta a España. The team also has Andrea Vendrame at the startline, who should be targeting the flatter stages with special consideration to the slightly hilly finale in Manosque.

AG2R Citroën Team for Tour de la Provence: Aurelien Paret-Peintre, Geoffrey Bouchard, Lilian Calmejane, Lawrence Naesen, Nicholas Prodhomme, Andrea Vendrame and Antoine Raugel.