“Tony the Tiger” Duchesne gets the call for the Vuelta a España

Groupama-FDJ Canadian champion chose Antoine “Tony the Tiger” Duchesne as part of its squad for the 73rd Vuelta a España, 2018’s final Grand Tour starting Saturday. This will be Duchesne’s third Grand Tour and first since the 2016 Tour de France, where he was 107th. Tony the Tiger’s first Grand Tour saw him place was the 2015 Vuelta a España.

? Vuelta ??
└? 73e édition
└? Compo d'équipe
└?? Pinot
└?? Delage
└?? Duchesne
└?? Molard
└?? Preidler
└?? Sarreau
└?? Thomas
└?? Vincent pic.twitter.com/5DUnoIOKDf

— Équipe Cycliste Groupama-FDJ (@GroupamaFDJ) August 21, 2018

Duchesne joins Michael Woods of EF-Drapac as the Canadian entrants. There were no Canadians at the Tour de France but three at the Giro d’Italia in May: Woods, Svein Tuft and Guillaume Boivin.

Duchesne will ride with Thibaut Pinot as his squad’s protected GC rider. Pinot announced on Wednesday that he had re-signed for two more seasons with Groupama-FDJ. He has ridden his entire professional career with the outfit, called Francaise des Jeux when he joined in 2010.

Content de vous annoncer que 2019 et 2020 seront mes 10e et 11e saisons sous les couleurs de @groupamafdj : confiance totale en mes coéquipiers, mon équipe de toujours et ses sponsors @Groupama et @FDJ ? pic.twitter.com/6Z8udsp2Uw

— PINOT Thibaut (@ThibautPinot) August 22, 2018

Groupama’s Canadian has completed all five of his 2018 WorldTour stage races, with 61st in the Tirreno-Adriatico as his season’s high mark.