Guesdon to ride Paris-Roubaix in 2012

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Frédéric Guesdon (FDJ) has confirmed that he will continue his career at least until next season’s Paris-Roubaix. The veteran Frenchman turns 40 next month and has been offered a short-term contract extension by FDJ, although he has not ruled out continuing until the end of 2012.

“I’ll start again next season,” Guesdon told Velochrono.fr. “Maybe I won’t do the whole year, but for the time being, FDJ have proposed that I extend my career as a rider up until Paris-Roubaix. I still have the desire to do a full season. The form is still there, so I say to myself, why not! But for now, it’s planned only up until Roubaix.”

Guesdon, who won Paris-Roubaix in 1997 and Paris-Tours in 2006, admitted that he would like to stay in the sport on his retirement from racing. He is in the process of completing his studies for Brevet d’Etat certification as a sports coach, and was a guest directeur sportif for FDJ when Jérémy Roy won the Grand Prix de la Marseillaise last January.

“I’d like to continue in this environment, but I know that there aren’t a lot of places or a lot of doors open in that field,” Guesdon admitted. “I’m open to all offers. This winter I passed my last diploma and I will be completely finished in April.”

A top flight team since its inception in 1997, FDJ spent this season at Pro Continental level and Guesdon explained that the team was aiming to return to the WorldTour in 2012.

“This year, we’re doing everything we can, so we won’t have any regrets,” Guesdon said. “Not getting back to the first division would be a big disappointment.”

Guesdon lines up at the Circuit Franco-Belge on Thursday, before riding Paris-Bourges and Paris-Tours.