Jan Bakelants (AG2R-La Mondiale)(Image credit: AG2R La Mondiale)
Jan Bakelants (Ag2r-La Mondiale)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Johan Vansummeren in his new Ag2r-La Mondiale team kit(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Johan Vansummeren and Jan Bakelants(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jan Bakelants checks his height against that of the 1.97cm Johan Vansummer(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Johan Vansummeren ready for a ride(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jan Bakelants getting his leg warmers on pre-ride(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Johan Vansummeren and Jan Bakelants pose by the pool(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
New Ag2r-La Mondiale Belgian signings Jan Bakelants and Johan Vansummeren(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jan Bakelants and Johan Vansummeren(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
This angle hides the height difference between Jan Bakelants and Johan Vansummeren(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jan Bakelants and Johan Vansummeren get creative for photographer Tim de Waele(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jan Bakelants joins Ag2r-La Mondiale from Omega Pharma-Quick Step(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Johan Vansummeren (AG2R-La Mondiale)(Image credit: AG2R La Mondiale)
French WorldTour team Ag2r-La Mondiale is ready to start the 2015 season after completing their training camp in December held in Oliva on the Valencia coast of Spain. New signings Jan Bakelants and Johan Vansummeren donned the team's distinctive brown and white kit for the first time at the camp, and they will officially starting their racing season at the Dubai Tour held from February 4 to 7.
Bakelants is starting his sixth season on the WorldTour and joins new teammates at Ag2r-La Mondiale to help in the stage races. He had a respectable 2014 season with Omega Pharma-QuickStep where he won a stage at the Critérium du Dauphiné, and had podium finishes in stages at the Tour de Romandie and Tour de Poitou-Charentes, and third place at the Grand Prix de Wallonie. In 2013, the Belgian won a stage at the Tour de France was fourth overall at the Eneco Tour, third overall at the Tour de Luxembourg and sixth overall at the Tour Down Under.
His fellow countryman Vansummeren has been racing at the sport's highest level for more than a decade. He has competed for teams Davitamon-Lotto and the Garmin outfit for five season each before joining Ag2r-La Mondiale for two years, until the end of 2016. His biggest success was winning Paris-Roubaix in 2011 and he placed in the top 10 on three other occasions. He has also competed in 13 Grand Tours and will be an asset to the team's ambitions for the Tour de France in July, especially after they won the overall team competition, and Jean-Christophe Peraud placed second and Romain Bardet sixth overall.
The 30-rider team also includes newcomers Nico Denz, Pierre-Roger Latour and Quentin Jauregui.
Ag2r-La Mondial will start the 2015 season with teams at the Tour Down Under from January 20-25 in Adelaide, Tour de San Luis in Argentina from January 19 to 25 and the Dubai Tour.
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