Franck Bonnamour will ride for AG2R Citroën for the next two seasons following the collapse of the B&B Hotels squad at the end of 2022. The Breton, who was voted the most aggressive on the 2021 Tour de France, makes the step up to WorldTour level after five years as a professional.
“He is a rider that we have been following for a few years now and with B&B Hotels team stopping, that hastened his arrival in our organization,” AG2R manager Vincent Lavenu said in a statement released by the team on Wednesday.
“He has a burst of speed that allows him to play his card in small groups, he climbs quite well, he is comfortable at the Classics, and has the ideal mindset to blend into our team. He will provide valuable support for our leaders.”
Bonnamour was European champion as a junior before turning professional with Fortuneo-Vital Concept in 2016. He moved to B&B Hotels in 2021, when he finished second at both Paris-Tours and the Tour du Limousin, as well as making an impression at his debut Tour de France, where he placed 22nd overall.
Last season, Bonnamour scored his first professional victory at La Polynormande and he was initially set to continue with a revamped B&B Hotels squad for 2023. Jerome Pineau’s plans to sign Mark Cavendish and rebrand as ‘Paris Cycling Club’ unravelled in the Autumn, however, leaving Bonnamour and his teammates without contracts for 2023.
Bonnamour is now AG2R’s fourth new arrival for 2023 after the team previously signed neo-professionals Alex Baudin, Bastien Tronchon and Pierre Gautherat. Bob Jungels (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) and Clément Champoussin (Arkéa-Samsic) were the team’s most high-profile departures.
“It was a career goal to join a UCI WorldTeam. So to achieve this, in a French team moreover, is a great achievement and a huge source of motivation,” the 27-year-old Bonnamour said on Wednesday.
While Bonnamour has found a team for the next two years, Cavendish and Cees Bol are among the riders from the B&B project still to confirm their plans for 2023, though both riders have been linked with possible moves to Astana-Qazaqstan.
Ramon Sinkeldam, who had been set to ride for B&B Hotels in 2023, has since signed for Alpecin-Deceuninck, while Pierre Rolland recently announced his retirement from racing.
