AG2R La Mondiale will ride on Kuota frames at least until 2013, as the French team has agreed an extension to its current deal with the Italian bike company. Vincent Lavenu’s team has been riding on Kuota frames since 2010, after switching from Spanish marque BH.
“We are extremely satisfied with the bikes made by Kuota, and with the relationships we have with its management,” said Lavenu. “The quality of work from this great Italian brand is well established and the desire to extend our partnership with Kuota came completely naturally.”
Kuota previously provided bikes to French Professional Continental team Agritubel, but switched to AG2R La Mondiale after that team folded at the end of the 2009 season. The Italian company was one of the first in the top level of the sport to equip its frames with components from SRAM and has continued to do so; the team also uses wheels from US company Reynolds.
The team, which includes cyclocross specialist, Giro d’Italia stage winner and fourth place John Gadret, former Irish champion Nicolas Roche, former mountainbiker and Tour de France tenth place Jean-Christophe Péraud, and a number of up and coming French riders, is the only French representative in the top-level International Cycling Union (UCI) WorldTour.
Riders will ride Kuota’s top of the range KOM frame in road races, and Kueen-K frames in time trials.