The An Post – Chain Reaction team have been listed amongst the teams invited to take part in the early season French races, Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise and Etoile de Bessèges.

The UCI 1.1 Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise takes place on the 1st of February, and a number of World Tour teams are set to take part including FDJ, Lotto Soudal and Ag2R. Last year’s race was won by former An Post rider, Kenneth Vanbilsen.

Three days later, the 5-day UCI 2.1 Etoile de Bessèges kicks off in Provence, and the An Post team had some good performances there last year. Marcus Christie managed to get into the winning break on the first day where he finished in 6th place , and would later wear the U23 jersey.

Directeur Sportif, Niko Eeckhout has also been successful at Etoile, winning the race overall in 2001, and a stage for the An Post team in 2010. The opening stage is over 152 kilometres from Bellegarde from Beaucaire, followed by three more road stages over similar distances, with the final stage consisting of a 12 kilometre time-trial.