Simon Carr sheds light on his decision to join Cofidis: "It was the desire to start at the Tour de France"

Despite having a British passport, Simon Carr will feel at home in his new team Cofidis. Having grown up as a cyclist in France, there's one burning desire on his mind - to participate at the Tour de France in his career. The 26-year-old realized that dream was not going to be fulfilled with EF Education-EasyPost and that's precisely what brought him on-board Cofidis.

"It was a desire to have a leadership role more often but also to have a significant chance of being present at the Tour de France," Carr explains his decision to change teams at Direct Velo. "That's what mainly interested me in this project. Cédric (Vasseur) presented me with great things for the future, the team is going to become more international, especially in terms of staff. I have the feeling that the team is going in the right direction."

Carr spent four more or less good years with EF, was it an option to continue? "They were happy with me. The situation suited them, they liked the fact that I had this role of a rider who performs in lower level races, that I win stages, that I score UCI points... It was comfortable for me too. It was a great team, with a very good atmosphere. I have nothing to say about that. I left on good terms."

Despite some turbulent years and persistent allergies, Carr is confident in his own abilities and that he can turn out to be just what Cofidis needs - a reliable GC leader. "I also have the possibility of being a very good teammate in the mountains in another team. But I'm 26 now and it's time to test myself in the big races like Strade Bianche, Volta a Catalunya and Tour de Romandie... These are races where I want to ride for the general classification, to test myself. Then at the Tour de France, I want to aim for a stage win."