Carmejane heads into the New Year after a disappointing 2019

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Carmejane heads into the New Year after a disappointing 2019

Lilian Carmejane appears to have lost the momentum of her remarkable 2017 campaign, but the Total Direct Energy rider feels she is still improving as a rider and is motivated by the prospect of a full ride on the 2020 World Tour calendar

26 years old.

The 26-year-old French rider burst onto the scene with a stage win at the 2016 Vuelta a España in his first year as a pro.

However, his strike rate has slowed in the last couple of years, with just two each in 2018 and 2019, both in .1 category French races.

"In my career, everything took off right from my first season as a pro. After that it was difficult. Expectations are always much higher, but it's always difficult to get better results," Carméjane told Cycling News.

"Still, I've learned to be consistent. For the past three years, I have won at least two races. Not every rider can win a race every year."

Calmejian's season started well enough with a win in the Ardèche Classic, but he had to wait six months before he could get his arms around the Tour du Limousin again. In the spring, he experienced a cobbled classic and finished 40th in Flanders, second in the main group.

But there was no sign of the man who ran through the Massif Central two years ago.

"I was in pretty good shape for most of the races, except for the Tour de France, because the Tour de France is the most important race for a French rider, or any rider.

"I wanted to replicate a certain preparation that has worked well in the past, but this time it was clearly different. There is no exact science to cycling. That's just the way it is."

"The Tour was pretty bad and it was hard to accept that. I won some races and had a lot of top-10 finishes. I always want to do better, but I think I have grown this season."

Calmejane finished the season at the Tour of Guangxi, helping the Pro Continental team battle for ranking points.

After the confusion over the scoring system, Total Direct Energie turned up its nose, with its budget increasing since Total joined earlier this year.

"It's great news. It's great for the team because we'll be able to participate in the biggest race in the world and that's what we've been looking for," Carméjane said

.

"From the beginning of the season, our goal was to win as many races as possible, and the points came with that. [But we also knew that Corendon Circus was a dangerous team with Mathieu Van Der Pol. We extended our season to Guangxi, and thankfully we managed to pull it off."

The team was able to get a good deal of time to work on the project, and the team was able to get a good deal of time to work on the project.

Thus, despite the disappointment of 2019, there is much reason for optimism for Carmejane in 2020.

"I've forgotten about the Tour. The season is over, now it's time to relax, 2020 will be better."

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