My name is Elin - A pro cycling lover's reflections

Duchesne joins Europcar

Category: Cycling

The Canadian Antoine Duchesne will join the WorldTour in 2014, as he joins Team Europcar.

Earlier today, it was announced that the Europcar team has been awarded a two-year WorldTour license. The team's riders will gather tomorrow in Spain for their first team training camp.

Duchesne, the U23 Canadian champion, solo escaped on the final stage to Santa Rosa at the Tour of California. And he did the same on stage 4 of the Tour of Alberta, where he attacked and bridged to the breakaway. In the end of that stage, he was sadly out-gunned by Cadel Evans, who won the stage. However, Duchesne earned the most aggressive rider's jersey.

“I am truly happy to have been able to sign with Europcar, especially in a year like this one with so many teams leaving. It’s almost a dream to reach the top level like this; I’ve been working at this goal since forever," Duchesne said in a press release.

Europcar manager Jean-René Bernaudeau said that:
“We are happy to welcome Antoine to our team for 2014 and 2015. We had heard about him several times over the past two years and began more serious negotiations with him during our visit in Quebec last September for the Quebec and Montreal Grand Prix Cyclistes. Louis Garneau and Serge Arsenault had nothing but praise for this young Quebec cyclist, whom they qualify as one of the most promising Canadian cyclists of the year. Antoine is a versatile rider and will be an asset to the team.”

The Europcar team will begin the 2014 season at the Tour of Gabon on January 13.
Say something: