Plenty of good placing but very few wins for AG2R in 2011. With their core thirty-something French duo, John Gadret and Jean-Christophe Péraud, Vincent Lavenu's men achieved their best result of the year at the Giro d'Italia where Gadret clinched 4th (3rd after the relegation of Contador). Peraud helped save the season as well with a 10th place overall at the Tour de France, 6th at Paris-Nice and 7th at the Tour of Beijing.

Wishing to produce more victories in 2012, the AG2R's staff hired the sprinters Jimmy Casper and the Italian Manuel Belletti. The Iranian racer Amir Zagari was added to the roster in order to collect some precious World Tour points. As an investment for the long term, Lavenu signed Romain Bardet, one of the most promising young French riders.

Martin Elminger, Rinaldo Nocentini and Nicolas Roche will be expected to rebound after a rather transparent 2011 season. The French veterans Christophe Riblon, Lloyd Mondory, Sebastien Hinault and Anthony Ravard will also assume leader's role in 2012 depending on the races terrain.

A rider from the intermediate age group of the team, MaximeBouet, Michael Chérel and Biel Kadri could very well be the good surprise from AG2R this year. Vincent Lavenu is hoping for solid results for its 20th year as a team manager at the top level.