September 26, 2017 – Canada’s Antoine Duchesne will ride for FDJ in 2018 according to a brief post on the team’s Facebook page. “Welcome to Canadian Antoine Duchesne who will join the équipe team next season!” The talented 25-year-old rider from Saguenay, Quebec, was recently the top Canuck at the Grand Prix de Montreal also winning the Appalachian Classic.

His exit from Direct Energie, his team for the past four years, was not so smooth as he began looking around via an independent agent which he previously told Pedal was “perhaps a mistake” as the team’s manager Jean-René Bernardeau frowns on such behaviour.

 

Duchesne has been with Direct Energie (previously Europcar) since 2014 and, despite no major wins, he competed in two “Grand Tours” including the 2016 Tour de France where he was actually leading the Tour for a short time as part of a break on Stage 7 that eventually was caught. Duchesne finished 107th and also completed the 2015 Vuelta where he finished 138th.

Duchesne made the cut for the Canadian team at the Rio Olympics 2016 road race and was the top Canuck at the 2015 UCI Road Worlds in Richmond, Virginia, finishing 61st.

His crowning accomplishment with Direct Energie was winning the King of the Mountain (KOM) polka dot jersey at the 2016 Paris-Nice, an achievement that punched his ticket to the TdF that year.

2016 interview with Duchesne about the KOM jersey here.