The Bbox Bouygues Telecom team presented their 26 rider line-up today in Boulogne-Billancourt, France at the headquarters of their main sponsor. Last summer the telecommunications company announced that they would be ending their sponsorship of the team after continuing their sponsorship a year longer than it had originally intended.
Company vice-president Emmanuel Forest told Velo101, “We chose to partner for an additional year with Jean-René Bernaudeau [team manager] before stopping. We are proud to have been associated with the team,” adding that he would be happy to talk to sponsorship prospects about the success they’ve had together with the squad.
Bernaudeau, said he was “confident” about finding a new sponsor to take the place of Bouygues Telecom and fully expects the team to continue in 2011.
“I’m really not worried about the future,” he said to rtbf.be. He will rely on his Tour de France stage winners from 2009, Pierrick Fedrigo and Thomas Voeckler, to lead the team while they search for a new sponsor. The loss of their ProTour status hasn’t caused any logistical issues for the team. Voeckler told VeloNation in an interview last month that the team has already confirmed most of the wildcard invitations needed to execute their program, but is ready to earn back their place in the sport.
“It has really motivated the team for next year,” he said of the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) decision. “When our ProTour license was taken away it was like being moved from the first division to the second division in football. We are no longer considered at the top level of the sport, and we all naturally want to be back in the ProTour again. It’s better for our sponsors to have that association, and we will all work hard next season to get back.”
Their most important race will be the Tour de France and, because of an agreement the UCI made with the Tour organizers, the team is guaranteed a start in their home Tour.
The declining global economy has also led to the exit of two other title sponsors once the 2010 season is complete. Recently Bjarne Riis was informed that he will need to replace Saxo Bank for next year, and Gerry van Gerwen will be looking for a company to step in for German dairy company Milram.
Fresh off a training camp in Spain the squad is fit, motivated and ready to get to work. Team coach Marion Clignet said on her VeloNation Blog that, “Everyone did better than last year by at least 50 watts, if not more” during testing, which is a good sign of things to come.
In the off-season the French team added, Freddry Bichot, twice former French National Champion Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel) and Anthony Charteau (Caisse d’Epargne), who is fresh off his overall win at the Tropicale Amissa Bongo in Gabon. Yohann Gène also started off the year well there and won a stage.
Sports director Didier Rous said he will be looking to develop the team’s young talent. He tips youngster Pierre Rolland as a man for the future, and expects Cyril Gautier to ride his first Grand Tour in 2010.
Voeckler told us last December that his big targets would be Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Paris-Nice and of course, the Tour de France. The team will obviously look to repeat its 2009 success in la Grande Boucle, and continue to focus being successful in the biggest races at home, including the National Championships, which will be held in the Vendée region this year.
Bbox Bouygues Telecom roster for 2010:
Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn), Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra), Freddy Bichot (Fra), William Bonnet (Fra), Franck Bouyer (Fra), Steve Chainel (Fra), Anthony Charteau (Fra), Mathieu Claude (Fra), Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra), Damien Gaudin (Fra), Cyril Gautier (Fra), Yohann Gène (Fra), Saïd Haddou (Fra), Vincent Jerome (Fra), Laurent Lefevre (Fra), Guillaume Le Floc’h (Fra), Alexandre Pichot (Fra), Perrig Quemeneur (Fra), Pierre Rolland (Fra), Matthieu Sprick (Fra), Sébastien Turgot (Fra), Thomas Voeckler (Fra), Nicolas Vogondy (Fra), Johann Tschopp (Swi), Yuriy Trofimov (Rus). Jerome Cousin (Fra) (Beginning August 1)
Departures: Belgy Julien (Fra), Olivier Bonnaire (Fra), Arnaud Labbe (Fra), Rony Martias (Fra), Evgeny Sokolov (Rus)
Arrivals: Freddy Bichot (Fra), Anthony Charteau (Fra), Nicolas Vogondy (Fra)
Manager: Jean-Rene Bernaudeau
Sports Directors: Didier Rous, Dominique Arnold, Benedict Génauzeau Ismael Mottier, Jean-Francois Rodriguez.