AG2R-La Prevoyance has announced the signing of French rider Jean-Christophe Péraud on a two-year contract. The 33-year-old former mountainbiker has been with Belgian team OmegaPharma-Lotto in 2010, his first year as a professional rider on the road.
“I am obviously very happy to have signed with the AG2R-La Mondiale team,” said Péraud. “My objectives are simple: my first participation in the Tour de France, and to try to win my first high level race, whether it’s a one-day race or a stage race.”
Péraud won a number of titles as a mountainbiker, as well as a silver medal in the cross-country at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, but it was his victory in the 2009 French time trial championships, while riding as an amateur, that brought him to the attention of the road racing world. He went on to finish 11th in the World time trial championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland, before joining the Belgian team for 2010.
This season he finished eighth in Paris-Nice, fourth in the Vuelta a Pais Vasco, twelfth in the Tour de Pologne, and 39th in the Vuelta a España. Although he was due to stay with the Belgian team through 2011, OmegaPharma-Lotto agreed to release him when the French team showed interest.
“The AG2R-La Mondiale team has strengthened itself with a high quality rider,” said team manager Vincent Lavenu. “Jeah-Christophe Péraud will be an asset for the difficult stage races like the Tour de France, the Dauphiné or even Paris-Nice, which are our preferred domain.
“The team needed further reinforcement,” he continued, “ and Jean-Christophe is a great reinforcement, who will help us continue to make progress in the mountains and be even more present in the international rankings.”
This year AG2R’s 25-year-old Irish captain Nicolas Roche confirmed his developing potential with 15th in the Tour de France and seventh in the Vuelta a España. Roche will be hoping that Péraud will be more helpful than current teammate John Gadret, who refused to give up his wheel and later accelerated when the Irishman punctured on the key climb to the Port de Balès.
With help, rather than hindrance, from his teammates Roche’s 15th place finish may have been a few places higher.