This Sunday, 2020 winner Benoit Cosnefrois may be taking part in the GP Cicliste la Marseillaise, which raises the curtain on the French racing calendar in traditional style, but it is not certain whether he will be able to get off to a flying start as he has in previous years.

Indeed, in 2020, the former U-23 world champion won not only Marseille, but also Etoile de Besseges, the first French stage race following this weekend.

However, speaking to Cycling News at the AG2R Citroën training camp in Spain in early January of this year, Kosnefroe was weighing the pros and cons of having an easier start than usual.

"Usually I get a very good start every season and seem to be able to build my form fairly quickly.

"But I've changed my program a bit this season, so maybe my first win will be delayed; I'm planning to compete in the Ruta del Sol in Spain in February and in Italy in March."-Kosnefroe will make his debut in Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, and Milano-Sanremo He will make his debut at.

"So it's a bit of a risk going this way, but I want to see what I can do with a different goal than my usual competitions. And I'm hoping to be in better shape in March and April, so maybe this will improve my condition."

For a good portion of the first half of the 2021 season, Kosnefroy was plagued by an old injury to his right knee. He recently told the French newspaper L'Equipe, "During that period I only had one knee." Fortunately, he said, "the knee is fine now."

"I'm starting this season with a stronger training base than last year. So overall it's good news."

As Cycling News noted in an interview with Kosnefroi last winter, one of the most striking images of Kosnefroi in 2021 is that of his French teammate Julien Alaphilippe after the World Championships, "beer in hand, cap on backwards and the rainbow jersey in his mouth ...... It was to be photographed "leading the way in a proper celebration of the title.

Interestingly, however, another important image of Cosnefrois this year came when he and Alaphilippe were enemies. Even though Alaphilippe was backed by teammate Mikel Honoré, he inflicted a rare defeat on the Quick Step racer in the Bretagne Classic.

However, Alaphilippe insists that winning the first World Tour race of his career, and ahead of "Araf," did not change him. Indeed, his drive for more victories has not diminished.

"Physically and psychologically, it hasn't affected me that much. I wanted to win on the World Tour. It's in the palm of my hand. But the desire to win is still there. I still want to keep winning, just like before," Kosnefroi said.

Kosnefrois has built a reputation for continuing to challenge, even when the going gets tough. According to Cycling News last winter, his one-day victory at last spring's Tour du Finistère, despite suffering a knee injury and being "far from top form," was due to "desire" and "good decisions."

So while his main goal for the first half of the season is undoubtedly the Ardennes Classic, it would not be surprising to see him in the thick of the action from the start, either this February or in Mach's Italy.

However, when the Belgian mountain one-day race comes around in April, Kosnefroe will have a different team plan than he did in 2020 when he finished second behind Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) in La Flèche Wallonne.

Since then, AG2R Citroën has also signed former Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner Bob Jungels, and both had a rough 2021 in the Ardennes Classics, but this time around, the French team should at least have Mule de Huy and Cote de la Redoute should get the two biggest cards.

"We're targeting both of them, and we'll talk about how we're going to fight," Kosnefroi said.

"I think we both have different strengths that we can benefit from. I'm the punchy type of racer and he's good at long, steady climbs. The Liege finish will be very good for him if he can get away with it."

Jungels was the last winner of Liege, not the "new" finish in the city that was introduced in 2019, but the uphill finish in Ans. And as a racer with a noteworthy turn of speed on the summit, Kosnefroi himself said he would have preferred to keep the harder finish.

"It's very difficult to get away on your own, and on a flat run-in there's a good chance there's someone faster than me. I prefer those difficult finishes and now it will be more than a tactical battle."

"But I have to adapt and rethink how to tackle a different type of finale. I am confident we can do that."

Kosnefroy, who specializes in uphill finishes, will end the season with the Canada World Tour Classic as his "pandemic permitted race."

But as usual, the jovial Frenchman will have made a significant impact on the one-day race scene long before that.