On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Luxembourgish cyclist Bob Jungels would leave the Deceuninck Quick-Step team to join AG2R Citroën.
The 27-year old cyclist has been with Deceuninck Quick-Step for the past five years and has now signed a two-year contract with AG2R Citroën.
In an interview with RTL, Jungels stated that he had been pondering the decision for a long time, at least since last winter. The coronavirus pandemic further delayed the final decision.
Jungels explained that he believed AG2R could be an enjoyable project, with the young cyclist also favourably mentioning the team's new sponsor, Citroën. However, he also praised his former team Quick-Step for their formidable youth work. At the same time, Jungels explained that he as an "older cyclist" now wanted to focus more on becoming a sole leader, especially in races such as Tour de Suisse or Paris-Nice, which Jungels stated were close to his heart.
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The cyclist stated that a pivotal conversation for him was one he had with AG2R's performance manager. Jungels expressed hope that the new team would allow him to more specifically work towards certain goals instead of just focusing on winning every single race. Jungels mentioned that he intended to work in particular on his performance in time trials and stage races, pointing out that the recent Dauphiné showed him that he needed to get used to racing again. Overall, Jungels expressed optimism about the upcoming season.
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Jungels will now become a team mate of Ben Gastauer, who extended his contract with AG2R for another year at the end of July.
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The team was founded in 2000 and has frequently been competing for the top ranks in the Tour de France over the past years. The team's leader Romain Bardet has already decided to join the German team Sunweb. The team is currently competing under the name AG2R La Mondiale, but due to a new sponsor, it will change its name to AG2R Citroën for the new season.
