John Gadret (Épernay, 1979) will ride for the Movistar Team after an agreement was reached with Eusebio Unzué’s sqaud for the next season. The veteran Frenchman, who will fulfil his 11th season as pro cyclist, will be reinforcing the Blues’ potential in the mountains, the terrain suiting him best and where he’s offered his best performances. A cyclocross especialist -having won several national titles and reached top-ten finishes in the World Championships-, Gadret closes an eight-year stage with AG2R La Mondiale, where he claimed five victories.
His biggest success to date, though, was the 3rd place overall in the 2011 Giro d’Italia, where he also notched up a stage win in Castelfidardo. He came close once again to the top ten (11th) in the Corsa Rosa a year later, and this season brought some good performances for him, with podiums in the Route du Sud and the Tour de l’Ain (3rd in both), top-10 overall in País Vasco or the Criterium International and the 22th spot in the Tour de France.
Gadret’s marks the fifth confirmed signing by Movistar Team, after Alex Marque, Jasha Sütterlin, Gorka Izagirre and Adriano Malori.
Ron Callahan is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.