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LENNY MARTINEZ GOES ON AND ON
The victories of Laurence Pithie in Geelong and Kevin Geniets in Marseille launched the Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team's 2024 season on an exciting note. February only confirmed the trend, with the win counter rising from two to four. But one statistic remains valid to this day: all the riders who have raised their arms for the team since the start of the year are former La Conti riders. The development work carried out since 2019 is paying off more than ever. The two bouquets picked up in February were to the credit of Lenny Martinez. First, on 16 February, at the Classic Var, close to his home town: the craftiest on the slopes of Mont Faron, the climber beat his rivals right to the line. Then, on the 28th, in Italy's Trofeo Laigueglia: this time, he won solo, having outdistanced his rivals on the difficult Ligurian circuit. In the meantime, he had competed in Spain in O Gran Camiño, a race with a very strong line-up, including two-time Tour de France title-holder Jonas Vingegaard. Lenny Martinez wasn't able to beat the Dane in the overall classification, but he did take a convincing runner-up spot. Finally, on the Strade Bianche, he achieved his first top 10 in a classic, with an eighth place finish in Siena. Already a winner last year in the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge, before becoming the youngest leader in the history of the Vuelta a España in August, the twenty-year-old is on the way to taking a major step forward in 2024.
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LAURENCE PITHIE'S MELLOW YELLOW
Behind the victories, already numerous this year, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team has also achieved a promising number of places of honour since the start of the season. For more than four consecutive weeks, a rider from the team has finished in the top 10 of every race contested. The closest to adding a fifth success to the 2024 collection was Romain Grégoire: on 24 February at the Faun-Ardèche Classic, the puncheur battled it out with three of the world's best riders, taking second place behind Juan Ayuso, ahead of Mattias Skjelmose and Felix Gall. Then, in the first days of Paris-Nice, Laurence Pithie, another of the team's great talents, confirmed his excellent January by taking third and second place in the first two stages of the Race to the Sun. In doing so, he earned the privilege of wearing the Yellow Jersey in this legendary competition at just 21 years of age.
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La Conti is already in its sixth year of existence! This development team, made up of riders aged between 19 and 22, was created for the 2019 season and has since been a cornerstone of the Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team's sporting strategy. More than half of the riders in the WorldTour squad for 2024 have been members of its youth ranks in the past. Just over a year ago, eight riders developed by La Conti joined the first team - a promotion nicknamed 'La Nouvelle Vague'. Today, while the four wins scored by the structure since the start of the season have been achieved through former members of the youth program, the next few years are already being prepared with twelve promising riders who will proudly wear the colours of La Conti in 2024.
"La Conti's 2022 season was exceptional, and in 2023 we renewed over 90% of the squad to start a new cycle," explains Jérôme Gannat, sporting director. "At the time, it was the youngest continental division team registered with the UCI, with an average age of 18.3. Our young riders were able to benefit from in-depth development while achieving excellent results. In 2024, with the majority of our riders a year older, our ambitions will be even greater, and it's all going to be very exciting." Three 18-year-olds have joined the team from the junior ranks: Germany's Max Bock and Frenchmen Maxime Decomble and Titouan Fontaine, the latter having benefited from the team's Junior Programme for two seasons. "We need to be a stepping stone towards the WorldTour level, insists Jérôme Gannat. We always want to bring more to our riders, to help them progress and grow, while remaining focused on the quest for victories and results. That's what drives us forward, both individually and collectively."
La Conti's very first race of the 2024 season was held in Africa, with the Tour of Rwanda, an event in which the team had never taken part in the past. Competing against riders from the world's top two divisions, Brieuc Rolland took eighth place in the overall classification. The development team's calendar is set to intensify with the northern classics during the spring, and two particularly important events: Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Paris-Roubaix, in their Espoirs version. The 2024 squad has all the qualities needed to shine on any terrain. La Conti coach Joseph Berlin-Sémon introduces you to each of the riders from this sixth promotion:
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Last year, the 1st season of "Face à Face", a series of podcasts co-produced by Groupama with the media "Dans la tête d'un cycliste", gave the floor to Thibaut Pinot, Valentin Madouas or also David Gaudu, allowing listeners to discover their stories, their careers and their personalities.
Following the success of this first edition, Groupama is taking you behind the scenes of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team for season 2 in a new series of 8 episodes!
With sports journalist Claire Bricogne, this year discover the men and women who work in the backroom, essential to the day-to-day life of the riders and the sporting success of the Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team.
Every Wednesday from 14 February to 3 April, find out more about their mission, their expertise and their link with the riders. It's also an opportunity for them to share the most memorable parts of their careers, the greatest joys and the most difficult moments!
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EPISODE BROADCAST SCHEDULE
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To discover the first 4 episodes of this podcast series "Face à Face" season 2, click here!
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March is one of the most important months of the year! It's at this time that the events get underway for real. Three historic stage races take place one after the other: Paris-Nice, Tirreno Adriatico and the Volta Catalunya. The first two are in full swing and will finish on Sunday, before giving way to the classics! Milano-Sanremo kicks off the action on the 16th, then it's on to Belgium with a series of highly intense Flandriennes, culminating in the Ronde van Vlaanderen on the 31st. At the same time, the FDJ French Cup will be going through an already crucial phase, with six rounds in just two weeks: to have any hope of a final victory, it will be necessary to score a lot of points from now on!
On the 15th, La Conti will be competing in the Youngster Coast Challenge, a race in which they scored a one-two finish in 2022. From 20th to 24th, the development team will be taking part in a stage race it will be discovering: the Volta ao Alentejo, in Portugal.
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Play to win our Ale 2024 jersey! To have a chance of being drawn, find the right answers to six questions about the team's start to the season.
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