With Romain Bardet and Pierre Latour gone and Greg Van Avermaert and Bob Jungels new to the team, Benoit Cosnefrois noted that there is a "new wind" blowing in the AG2R-Citroen team.

The 25-year-old Pinture has big goals for 2021, both as a Frenchman and after taking a new step forward in 2020, aiming for the yellow jersey in the Classics and Tour de France.

While Bardet and Latour were bored with their setup and needed something new, Cosnefrois is wholeheartedly in favor of the new "project" being enhanced by new sponsor Citroen. Together with Oliver Naessen, the leader of the Cobblestone Classic, he signed a three-year contract early in the pandemic-stricken season and became a key figure in the team.

"I am totally happy with this new direction. It's a breath of fresh air and we're very happy to have Citroën join us. [I'm] very happy to be running with a teammate like Greg. Vincent [Lavenue, team manager] presented me with this project when we were negotiating a new contract. That's why I put my trust in the team for three more years. As far as the activity on the service course this winter, I don't regret it. I am convinced it is a great project."

After finishing the season second in the Paris-Tours, Cosnefrois took about a month off to return to his native Normandy, but has recently been strengthening his preparation for 2021 with new kit, a BMC bike, and 10 days of training in Nice. early January, he will be in Spain He will head to Spain for a full team training camp before making his season debut at GP La Marseillaise, where he won last year.

The race program is undecided, but the team will likely start all-French at Etoile de Besseges, where it also won last year. His main spring race will be the Ardennes Classic, and his cobblestone racing debut at the Tour of the Basque Country is yet to come. He will finish the season at the World Tour Classic in Canada, but his big goal is the Tour de France in the summer.

Cosnefrois, wearing the polka-dot jersey this year, will take the overall lead in the opening two days with two short but steep uphill finishes in Landerneau and Mule de Bretagne.

"Whoever wins the first and second day usually gets yellow. I'm not going to hide that. ...... That's my goal," Kosnefroy said.

"I want to shine that weekend and if I can do that, I can wear the yellow jersey. It might seem a little crazy, and obviously it's a pipe dream, but that's what I'm gearing up for.

In addition to once again impressing in the lower French races, Cosnefrois took a step forward and made an impact in the biggest classics of 2020, despite falling short of victory. After being one of the three strongest in the race along with Julien Alaphilippe and Mathieu van der Pol, she was runner-up in La Flèche Wallonne and reached the podium in Brabantspaille.

"The last part of the season was going well for me. I don't compare myself to the likes of Alaphilippe and Van der Pol, but I could feel the expectations around me.

"This winter it has driven me to improve even more. This winter gives me the motivation to go even further. In terms of pressure, not much has changed. I just have to manage it."