"I know that times are tough and there won’t be place for everyone but I did some great things on the bike”
Despite the fact that he won a stage in the Tour de France in 2009, underlining his climbing abilities, Brice Feillu has admitted that he has no contract thus far for next season and is facing an uncertain future.
The 27 year old Frenchman is in a similar position to the Belgian Kevin Seeldraeyers, who has stated that he has not been able to secure any deal for 2014 thus far.
Feillu competed with the Sojasun team this season but the French squad is stopping, leaving him in a position where he has nothing sorted at this point in time.
“At present, I do not know if I’ll still be professional rider next year,” he told Nice Matin. “I’ve made contacts, I remain optimistic, but nothing is done. Of course I want to continue. I’m far from being dead and it would bother me to stop like this.
“I know that times are tough and there won’t be place for everyone [in the peloton] but I did some great things on the bike and I still want to do that.”
Feillu turned pro with the Agritubel team in 2008 and won his Tour de France stage the following year. He was first to the top of Andorra-Arcalis on stage seven, emerging victorious from a big breakaway, while behind Alberto Contador launched a big attack which saw him gain time over the other favourites.
Feillu moved to Vacansoleil for a year, then signed a contract with Leopard Trek prior to the 2011 season. He then moved to Sojasun last season.
He hasn’t scaled the same heights in the years since 2009, although last season saw him take fifth on a stage of the Tour and sixth overall in the Volta a Portugal.
At 27 years of age he should have stronger seasons ahead of him, but what’s most crucial at this point in time is securing a contract and being part of the peloton in 2014. If that’s achieved, he can start to push for a return to good form.
A number of teams have folded this year, meaning that the market is saturated with riders trying to find deals for next season.