Manuel Belletti joins the French team Ag2r-La Mondiale for two years – Cycling News
Italian rider Manuel Belletti has signed a two year contract with team AG2R-La Mondiale as he is finishing his two year association with team Colnago-CSF-Inox. He had a few good performances including the stage 3 victory at the Tour of Turkey, Brixia Tour
and Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria.
Team Ag2r La Mondiale’s manager Vincent Lavenu was glad on signing the cyclist and believes that Belletti is becoming a better rider with experience. He said, “He’s a rider who knows how to win races, he has proved it again this year in taking four wins.”
Manuel’s biggest performance so far was at the Giro d’ Italia 2010 when he dominated stage 13 of the event despite the injuries he had to suffer in the earlier stages. Belletti was the debutant at the 2010 Giro and he was full of joy on winning the first
grand tour stage in his career. He said, "When the HTC-Columbia rider [Craig Lewis] attacked in the last kilometre, I was only concerned about Henderson," Belletti explained. "I jumped off his wheel but I didn’t believe in winning. This was only a dream."
The 25-year-old was overwhelmed with his inclusion in Ag2r-La Mondiale as he thanked Vincent Lavenu for considering him in the team’s roster. He further added that joining the team was the best decision in his career so far. He also thanked his former team
managers Bruno, Roberto Reverberi and Ernesto Colnago as they have fully supported him during his time spent with Colnago-CSF Inox.
Team Ag2R La Mondiale is looking ahead to improve their performance in the coming seasons as the team is at the 18th spot in the UCI WorldTour Teams rankings as of September 2011. They have scored a total of 342 points and are at the last position
whereas Omega Pharma-Lotto, Leopard Trek and Sky Procycling are the top three teams in the UCI ranking. It will be interesting to see how the inclusion of the young rider helps the French team improve their performance in the 2012 season.
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