Beginning with four victories in February FDJ-BigMat have consistently won races throughout the season. Not all the results have been big World Tour events but two stages of the Tour were the icing on the cake. One of the most memorable images of this season was the FDJ-BigMat director Marc Madiot shouting out of the car window to Pinot, urging him on to his solo win at Porrentury on Stage 8 of the Tour. As the youngest rider in the race Pinot had an outstanding debut Tour as he also finished 10th overall I the GC. The majority of the races that FDJ-BigMat won in were in France with Belgium the next favourite destination. Bouhanni won the first stage of the Circuit de Lorraine on his way to winning the overall, points and young rider classifications. This was the only overall victory for the team in 2012 as points classification wins were the favoured classification this season. The other two points classification wins were at Paris-Corrèze by Kenny Elissonde who also won Stage 2 of that race and the third win was at Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen by Arnaud Démare who also won Stage 2 on his way to the points classification.
The team took home two Team Classifications wins from the Tour de Limousin and the Tour de L’Eurometropole, a sign of how the team spread results across riders and races this season. Sandy Casar, Anthony Roux and Jeremy Roy all had quiet seasons but their lack of contribution was covered by the up and coming rides of Pinot, Elissonde, Démare and Bouhanni. Mickaël Delage had no wins in 2012 and was asked to sit out several weeks after a suspicious test suggesting the use of corticosteroids. Yoann Offredo was banned for a year after missing three doping tests in what was otherwise a clean year for FDJ.
Démare won six races in 2012 to begin his professional career with a bang. Démare was the under-23 world road race champion in 2011 and his transition to the senior ranks has been largely seamless. Along with Pinot, Démare is a bright light for the future of French cycling at only 21 was shown he has the potential to match it with the best after he beat André Greipel I the sprint of the Vattenfall Cyclassics. Of the rider to win a race in 2012 only one was over the age of 30 which was Fédrigo. The young riders of FDJ are setting the bar high for 2013. For the young riders, the real test will be in the larger World Tour events and Grand Tours to assess what level of performance they can reach.
Top Five Results
Tour de France Stage 5 Thibaut Pinot
Tour de France Stage 15 Perrick Fédrigo
Critérium de Dauphiné Stage 5 Arthur Vichot
Vattenfall Cyclassics Arnaud Démare
Tour of Qatar Stage 6 Arnaud Démare
Breakthrough Riders: With several riders all have outstanding beginnings to their careers, Pinot stands just a little above the rest after his solo win at the Tour. As the youngest rider in the race there was little expectation upon the Frenchman but to win a stage and finish tenth was exceptional. Démare and Bouhanni are two exciting prospects and look more than capable of continuing their form from 2012 as the experience of a year in the peloton will have benefitted them immensely. Vichot showed at the Critérium de Dauphiné his solo win on Stage 5 is a sign of things to come. He and Pinot look like future GC leaders and are proving they already have the legs to compete at such a high level. The return of Fédrigo was welcome after he contracted Lyme disease and missed a large chunk of racing but at 33 his qualities are well known. For him it was a return and a sign of what he brings to the FDJ outfit.
Disappointing Riders: There weren’t major disappointments for FDJ in 2012. The suspension of Offredo was an error as was the case of Delage but for the team the riders who didn’t have any wins only a handful had disappointing seasons. Casar had his first winless season since 2008 and would have been disappointed but with the talent that is coming through his lack of results wasn’t noticed. Jussi Veikkkanen rejoined FDJ but didn’t add any wins. Considering that in recent years his only significant wins have been the Finnish national road race on five occasions this was no surprise. Anthony Roux had a quiet season and at 25 will want to make sure he gets back to winning races and can reach the heights of 2009 when he won Stage 17 of the Vuelta de España once again.
Prospects for 2013 With the stellar talent that FDJ has the team will look for more GC wins next season after just the one this season. The arrival of Brazilian Murilo Fischer is the biggest signing for the team and he will bring much valued experience and guidance for the younger riders. Also riding for FDJ in 2013 will be the young and upcoming Alexandre Geniez moving across from Argos-Shimano, adding more depth to the fleet of young stars.
FDJ is still a team building the foundations for future success with its French stars. A Tour de France title in the future is possible but the team is currently focused in winning one day races and building confidence this way. The riders will next look at seven day races at objectives and ease their way into Grand Tour leadership. The arrival of new signings will help to guide the young riders and provides a nice age balance for the squad. Some of the older riders such as Casar and Fédrigo will still provide the occasion win but the baton has been passed and with Madiot urging them on they’ll have plenty of support. After the fiasco involved to secure the sponsorship of BigMat the building merchants will have no longer be associated with the team. FDJ will largely be unaffected by BigMat pulling out but will still look to attract a new co-sponsor.
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