Image 1 of 39 Samuel Dumoulin picks up the speed (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 2 of 39 Those not skiing head out for a hike (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 3 of 39 Team manager Vincent Lavenu (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 4 of 39 Victorious (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 5 of 39 Oliver Naesen takes a tumble in the cross-country ski race (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 6 of 39 A fat-bike race to finish the relay competition (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 7 of 39 A chalet stop for coffee and vin chaud (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 8 of 39 Strapping in (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 9 of 39 The hikers strap themselves into their snow raquettes (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 10 of 39 Romain Bardet gets ready to go (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 11 of 39 Silvan Dillier leads the way (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 12 of 39 Romain Bardet takes in the views (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 13 of 39 Romain Bardet tackles the course from the opposite direction, much to the surprise of his teammates (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 14 of 39 Romain Bardet out on the skis (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 15 of 39 Alexis Vuillermoz rounds a bend at speed (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 16 of 39 A beautiful day for a ski (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 17 of 39 There were some very tentative descenders (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 18 of 39 The race is on (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 19 of 39 Down in the shooting gallery (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher) Image 20 of 39 Tony Gallopin on the fat-bike (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 21 of 39 Down in the shooting position (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 22 of 39 One of the riders takes aim at the targets (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 23 of 39 Those not skiing head out for a hike (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 24 of 39 New signing Jakko Hanninen (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 25 of 39 Directuer sportif Julien Jurdie (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 26 of 39 The fat-bikes were equipped with electric motors for the steeper sections (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 27 of 39 Silvan Dillier heads uphill (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 28 of 39 Romain Bardet shows off his well-honed technique (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 29 of 39 The AG2R riders challenged each other on the cross country skis (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 30 of 39 Gediminas Bagdonas on the skis (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 31 of 39 Romain Bardet crests one of the climbs (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 32 of 39 Benoit Cosnefroy on the fat-bike (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 33 of 39 The riders took to a rolling 3km course (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 34 of 39 New signing Larry Warbasse opts for snowhoes after crashing on the skis the previous day (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 35 of 39 Oliver Naesen's unorthadox skiing technique (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 36 of 39 Silvan Dillier on the skis (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 37 of 39 Stijn Vandenbergh on the luge (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 38 of 39 The second leg of the relay competition was a luge run (Image credit: Yves Perret/YPM) Image 39 of 39 Training camps don't often come with this kind of scenery (Image credit: Patrick Fletcher)

The AG2R La Mondiale riders enjoyed a full range of winter sports as they hit the French Alps for a first get together ahead of the 2019 season.

In a partnership with the Oisans regional tourism board, the end-of-November trip to Vaujany - near Alpe d'Huez - has now become customary for the French team. Although the serious training gets underway in the south of Spain next month, the first camp is a chance for preliminary plans to be put in place and for a range of team-building exercises away from the bike.

On Tuesday and again on Wednesday, the riders piled into a cable car to take the trip from the village of Vaujany at 1,250 metres up to L'Alpette at 2,050m. The main activity was cross-country skiing, and a three-kilometre course was traced out, with plenty of snow already on the mountain. Team leader Romain Bardet, a well-known fan of biathlon and friend of world and Olympic champion Martin Fourcade, was the star of the show, closely followed by Alexis Vuillermoz.

New signing Larry Warbasse, an American, was less at home, and crashed hard on his face coming down a descent on Tuesday, giving himself a black eye and a burst lip that required four stitches. On Wednesday he played it safe and strapped on snow raquettes for a less risky one-hour hike.

While Tuesday afternoon doubled as a media session - with those riders not doing interviews instead swimming, ice skating or in the gym - Wednesday was the main team-building day up the mountain. A multi-discipline relay competition was organised, seeing teams of riders first send a representative on a short ski lap, then tag in a teammate for a head-first downhill toboggan run, then another for five shots in a biathlon-style shooting range, and finally a last rider to do laps on a fat-bike depending on how many shots had been missed. While Oliver Naesen fell flat on his face, the victory was brought home by Tony Gallopin.

Click or swipe through the gallery above for a full range of photos from AG2R's first winter get-together.