Cecile Ravanel (Image credit: Team LaPierre / Pure Agency)
The Lapierre / Pure Agency mountain bike team will support five racers for the 2009 season under the direction of manager Cyril Lagneau and team trainer Hubert Fléchais. It will continue to partner with the Véloroc mountain bike club in Cavaillon, France, as a feeder team for developing its under 23 racers.
Cedric Ravanel and Cécile Ravanel headline the team after a successful 2008. The 30-year-old Cedric finished 14th at the Olympic Games in Beijing and 12th in the overall World Cup standings. He also finished fifth at the Houffalize World Cup and the Vallnord World Cup as well as taking third in the French National Championship. Cécile, 28, is the French National Champion and was an alternate in for the Olympic team last year. She finished 10th at the Bromont World Cup and 12th in the Schladming World Cup for an 18th place overall.
Pierre-Geoffrey Plantet, 24, took third in two rounds of last year's French Cup and finished fourth at the French National Championship while 19-year-old Fabien Canal logged several top ten placings in the French Cup and National Championship. Fellow U23 racer Alexis Vuillermoz, 20, showed his talents with a second place at the Houffalize World Cup, a fifth place in Offenburg at the World Cup, a win at the St. Raphael French Cup and as a member of the World Championship team relay squad.
In 2009, the Lapierre team will contest the UCI World Cups, the World Championships, the French National Cup and the French National Championships along with races like the Offroad Cassis, the Tranvesubienne, Forestière and Roc d'Azur.
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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.
