AG2R U23 joins Giro del Belvedere to give France the first win

After launching Bardet and Latour, AG2R-La Mondiale’ youth team ready to race in Villa di Cordignano on Monday, April 22nd. A French rider has never conquered the Italian classic

The list of teams joining the 81st Giro del Belvedere – to be held on Monday, April 22nd in Villa di Cordignano (Treviso, Northern Italy) – becomes longer thanks to another international U23 squad, as Team AG2R U23 Chambery CF – World Tour AG2R-La Mondiale will be at the start of the Easter Monday Classic.

There are no French winners in the Giro del Belvedere roll of honor, but the team under the guidance of the Sports Director Loïc Varnet has all what it takes to target an historical achievement.

Following Romain Bardet and Pierre Latour footsteps, both launched by AG2R U23, three athletes facing the first year in the U23 category will try to be in first line: Alois Charrin, seventh in 2018 Innsbruck World Championships’ Junior Road Race, Valentin Retailleau and Elliot Schultz, the latter is one of the most promising prospects in Australia.

The team’s leader is Nicolas Prodhomme, who won Piccola Sanremo (Italy) this year and took the overall tenth place in Circuit des Ardennes (France), one of the main stage races in the youth calendar.

“It is an honor to receive the invitation to the Giro del Belvedere – DS Varnet said – and we thank the organizers for trusting us. We want to get a great result: Italian races are beautiful, well organized and their added value is given by the cheerful audience”.

Fifteen foreign teams and twenty Italian squads will take part in the Giro del Belvedere. The fearsome Russian athletes and the national selections of Belarus and Slovakia will try to make a surprise the eve’s favourites. The Slovak team represents the movement which launched three times World Champion Peter Sagan.

Astana Continental, the U23 team of the World Tour squad Astana Pro Team, will highlight the best young Kazakh athletes. Moreover, talented Brits Charles Page (Canyon DHB) and Tim James (Holdsworth-Zappi) and Colombian riders from Coldeportes Bicicletas Strongman are not to be underrates.

2019 Giro del Belvedere’s peloton will face a 163 Km route, characterized by two different circuits: the first (12 Km to be repeated 12 times) including the Conche hill, whilst the final circuit (two laps of 17,3 Km each) includes the classic Montaner climb in Borgo Canalet and Via delle Longhe hill.