Valentin Retailleau, member of the AG2R CITROËN U23 team, reigning French U23 champion and third in Gent-Wevelgem U23 on Sunday 27 March, will turn professional with the AG2R CITROËN team on 1 August. His contract will run until 2024.
He had been an intern with the AG2R CITROËN team from August to October 2021.
Valentin Retailleau: «It's an accomplishment.»
«I am very happy to be turning professional with the AG2R CITROËN team. After six years in the training programme, this is a real achievement. I would like to thank the team for the trust they have placed in me over all these years and at least until 2024.
My internship with the team from August to October 2021 went very well and we managed to reach an agreement for me to join the team in August 2022. This will allow me to finish my studies (a bachelor's degree in business school) before devoting myself entirely to cycling. I am looking forward to seeing my old friends from the AG2R CITROËN U23 team again and getting to know my new teammates. I want to learn as much as I can from those who have more experience and continue to improve. [/su_quote] [su_quote cite=Vincent Lavenu]
Vincent Lavenu: «An exemplary career»
«Given his exemplary track record in recent years in the training programme, Valentin (Retailleau) has earned his place in the AG2R CITROËN team. Alongside his university studies, he has progressed in his sporting career and achieved excellent results, such as his French Under-23 Championship title and his recent third place in the Under-23 Nations Cup at Gent-Wevelgem. Valentin has a very interesting punchy profile. We noticed his talent and his ability to blend into the group during his internship last year.
The signing of this agreement once again pays tribute to the work carried out by our two training institutions and to the concept behind this programme, namely, to attain professional status upon completion of a university degree.
In brief:
Born on 18 June 2000 (aged 21)
Originally from Oradour-sur-Glane (Haute-Vienne), lives in Chambéry (Savoie)
French Under-21 Champion in 2021
Winner of the first stage and third in the overall classification of the Tour de Bretagne (2.2) in 2021
3rd in Gent-Wevelgem U23 in 2022
The figure
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Valentin Retailleau will be the thirtieth rider in the AG2R CITROËN team's 2022 squad. After Clément Champoussin, Benoît Cosnefroy, Anthony Jullien, Paul Lapeira, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Nans Peters, Nicolas Prodhomme and Antoine Raugel, Valentin Retailleau will be the tenth rider from the AG2R CITROËN U23 team, representing a third of the 2022 squad.
Alongside Geoffrey Bouchard, Paul Lapeira, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Nans Peters, Antoine Raugel, Damien Touzé and Clément Venturini, Valentin Retailleau will be the eighth rider from the AG2R CITROËN U19 team to join the senior squad. In total, he is the twenty-fifth rider from the AG2R CITROËN U23 team to join the AG2R CITROËN team. The first was Blaise Sonnery in 2007.
The information
Valentin Retailleau, a pure product of the training programme
Valentin Retailleau has been part of the AG2R CITROËN team since 2017. He spent two seasons with the AG2R CITROËN U19 team (2017-2018) and has been with the AG2R CITROËN U23 team for four years (2019 to 2022).
