Francois Parisien signs with Argos-Shimano

Canadian all-rounder Francois Parisien found a new home with UCI Professional Continental squad Argos-Shimano for the 2013 season. The Dutch team earned wildcard status to compete at the Tour de France in July and is aiming to acquire a ProTeam license so that it can race in all the WorldTour events next season.

Parisien spent the last five years with SpiderTech p/b C10, however, Cycle Sport Management Inc, the company that runs the team, made a last-minute announcement that it will not participate in the cycling season next year. Team manager Steve Bauer said that he cancelled the program in order to focus on applying for a ProTeam license in 2014 with ambitions of racing at the Tour de France.

This year, Parisien had one of the best seasons in his career with top-placed performances at UCI-sanctioned events around the world. He won the overall classification at Tour of Elk Grove in the U.S., placed 4th at Tre Valli Varesine in Italy and 10th at Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, a WorldTour event.

Other career highlights include winning the King of the Mountain competition at the Univest Grand Prix, podium finishes during stages at the Tour de Beauce and Vuelta Mexico and top-10 finishes during stages at the Tour of California, Vuelta a Cuba and Air Force Cycling Classic.

Argos-Shimano has signed 28 men and 10 women for the 2013 racing season. Felt, a main sponsor of the team, announced the full roster.

Complete men’s team: Jonas Ahlstrand (SWE), Nikias Arndt (GER), Bert de Backer (BEL), Warren Barguil (FRA), Will Clarke (AUS), Roy Curvers (NED), Thomas Damuseau (FRA), John Degenkolb (GER), Tom Dumoulin (NED), Johannes Fröhlinger (GER), Simon Geschke (GER), Patrick Gretsch (GER), Yann Huguet (FRA), Thierry Hupond (FRA), Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA), Cheng Ji (CHN), Marcel Kittel (GER), Koen de Kort (NED), Tobias Ludvigsson (SWE), Luka Mezgec (SVN), Francois Parisien (CAN), Tom Peterson (USA), Georg Preidler (GER), Ramon Sinkeldam (NED), Matthieu Sprick, Tom Stamsnijder (NED), Albert Timmer (NED) and Tom Veelers (NED).

Complete women’s team: Charlotte Becker (GER), Lucy Garner (GBR), Marlen Jöhrend (GER), Janneke Kanis (NED), Willeke Knol (NED), Kelly Markus (NED), Amy Pieters (NED), Esra Tromp (NED) and Kirsten Wild (NED).