On the occasion of the official team presentation in Albir (Alicante) on Friday January 20th, team Intermarché-Circus-Wanty revealed its ambition for season 2023 in front of the press and its partners. The team of Jean-François Bourlart starts its third season in the World Tour with a team of 29 riders from twelve different nationalities and is now accompanied by a new Continental Development Team directed by Kévin Van Melsen, Circus-ReUz-Technord.
The preparation went well and I can’t wait to resume the competition. This season, my programme will be focused on three Monuments and the Tour de France. It would be fantastic if we could repeat the same performance in the Tour as what we achieved in the Giro 2022. It would be ideal to achieve our first stage victory, it doesn’t matter if it is me or a teammate taking it. On my own I can’t win, I know that I have a superb team around me.
I noticed a continuous progress of team Intermarché-Circus-Wanty and I wanted to be a part of it. A lot of work is done behind the scenes and this project is guided by an important conviction. The 2022 edition of Paris-Roubaix proved that the efforts go in the right way and that the level grows year after year. I’ll be racing alongside Biniam Girmay, who will be one of our main players in the classics. The atmosphere is excellent, all riders get along very well and work for the others. I’m impatient because I’m eager to contribute to the team’s success in 2023.
I can’t wait to start my thirteenth season as a pro alongside riders such as Biniam Girmay. I remember his victory in Ghent-Wevelgem as one of the best moments of season 2022 and undoubtedly also of my career. With my experience in the classics I wanted to guide a rider of who we knew the talent but not the limits. I motivated him for 250 kilometer, or calmed him down sometimes. I still have goosebumps when I think about the moment I positioned him at the bottom of the Mount Kemmel. This historical victory was a nice tribute to our collective strength. After, there was also Paris-Roubaix in which I obtained my best result. This season I’d like to return to do the same or even better than this sixth place.
Joining Intermarché-Circus-Wanty was a logical choice for me. I had a good relationship with Jean-François Bourlart for some years already. From the teambuilding in October I could taste the warm atmosphere I was waiting for for years. I’m 30, the environment in which I am is important for me as I’m convinced that you need to feel happy if you want to push hard on the pedals. The team has full confidence in me and I aim to reward this confidence by returning to my best level and to winning ways
I received the total confidence and support of the team since my arrival. The family culture is built from the management, everything is done to make us flourish. I wanted to reward this confidence by racing more aggressively, showing the jersey and achieving my goals. My season 2023 will be focused on the Tour de France, in which I hope to do as good as my seventh place in the general classification last year.
« I’m very happy to start a new chapter with Intermarché-Circus-Wanty. Since my arrival I feel the family atmosphere for which the team is known. I’ll have an important role alongside our young talents. This motivates me a lot. I want to help them by passing on my experience and my advice. I have several main goals, such as the Ardennes classics, with a season start in Spain and in Portugal. We have the potential to win major races and to repeat season 2022. »
We welcomed eleven new elements in the World Team without loosing our identity. The main goal for 2023 is to get the best out of each of our riders by aiming for the best possible result. We know our strengths and our weaknesses. We’re continuously searching for improvement, for example in terms of nutrition or equipment. This is what enables us to be part of the World Tour today.
We had to prepare the new generation and the creation of a new Continental Development Team was essential for us. With Kevin Van Melsen we have the best person to guide this project. His mission is to pass on the same values to Circus-ReUz-Technord, which are the engine of our evolution for years: the hard work in nice and humble conditions.
Our success of 2022 does not deviate us from our priority, which is to continuously professionalize our structure by working in an intelligent way with our resources. We know that the performances of the past don’t offer any guarantee for the future, that’s why we invested in our organization this winter whilst searching a balance in our group of riders.
For season 2023 we pursue our long term project following the same guiding principle, aiming to make our riders stronger by using their full potential. Therefore, we invest in each detail in terms of equipment or nutrition for example. The greatness of a team is also measured by the quality of its staff. Obtaining 24 victories and a fifth place in the World Ranking is the fruit of a collective uniting riders and staff members. We’re constantly looking for a professionalization of our working and at the same time keeping our family identity as our main power. We have important ambitions for next season. We want to continue winning races, not only in quantity but also in quality. We managed to win in both the Giro and the Vuelta, but a stage win in the Tour de France is missing. It would be a dream to realize it this season. We want to approach the podiums in the Monuments as close as possible. I’m convinced about it, we have the capabilities to be a stable team in the top ten of the World Ranking. We also have new goals with the launch of our new Continental Development Team, Circus-ReUz-Technord. Kevin Van Melsen is with no doubt the best person to lead this project. He has experienced everything with Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, he knows where we come from and he’ll pass on his experience and our values to this new team.
This position at the head of Circus-ReUz-Technord is particularly close to my heart. I want to transmit my experience to the youth generation, giving them all the opportunities they need to turn pro. We want to develop step by step, just like the World Team. It's a challenge to set up an efficient scouting, like the way we discovered Dries De Pooter or Madis Mihkels to have them join the World Team this season. The message I want to share today is that everyone will get their chance. My career is proof that it is not only about results, but also a way of thinking.
