"We believe in her": French revelation secures her future after Arkéa collapse

Amandine Fouquenet will swap the Arkéa jersey for that of Pauwels Sauzen-Altez Industriebouw Cycling Team in a few days. The 24-year-old was one of the riders that had not been able to find a new home after the disbandment of Arkéa - B&B Hotels, the team in which she has spent the whole of her professional career.

The French rider completed another strong race in Dendermonde, finishing in third place just behind the unbeatable Lucinda Brand and Puck Pieterse. It is her sixth podium of the season, and she only finished outside of the top 10 once (at UCI World Cup Antwerpen).

“Amandine has signed with us for the next two years,” Pauwels manager Jurgen Mettepenningen revealed to Sporza on the sidelines of the World Cup race in Dendermonde. “We believe in her. She is motivated and is even willing to move to Flanders for six months a year to race cyclo-cross here.”

Mettepenningen praised Fouquenet’s physical qualities, while pointing to areas for development. “She has a lot of engine; only her technique still needs some fine-tuning. But I think we can write a nice story with her.”

According to Mettepenningen, securing Fouquenet’s services was far from easy. “It wasn’t an easy battle. Many teams had their eye on her, but we absolutely needed someone alongside Leonie Bentveld who can compete at the top of women’s cyclo-cross week after week.”

Fouquenet is keen to combine cyclo-cross with a road programme, although that is not possible within the team structure. “With Leonie, we have an agreement with AG Insurance, and now we are looking at whether that could also be possible for Amandine,” Mettepenningen explained. “If that doesn’t work out, we’ll try to let her race on the road in France, so she can also do her thing in the summer.”

This means Fouquenet cannot pursue a road race calendar riding for Pauwels and needs to find another team for that discipline. Her job hunt is not over yet, but her recent performances should make it much easier for her to secure her future.