Sorry quoted wrong person...should have been ultimobici
Oh dear, I am afraid I have to ask, do you know anything about cycling?
Yes pro team pick riders based on one solitary result from February
Let me explain the French amateur scene. Being quite a large country, there are obviously a lot of races and teams. A lot of the competition is regionalised in that most clubs compete mostly in their own general region. Sometimes there could be 12-14 good races over a weekend spread throughout the country.
There is one National competition called the Coupe de France in which the Top 20 clubs in France compete in, think of it as akin to the Premier Claendar in the UK or even the ProTour. It is made up of 7-8 one days races and is the most prestigious series on the French circuit. There is only a handful of stage races that most clubs would compete in, the most prestigious of which is the Ronde de l'Isard in May.
JTL did ride for the CC Etupes club based in Eastern France which is one of the Top 20 clubs in France. However, JTL went back to Britain with his sickness before he got to ride any of the major races against all the top amateurs in France. There are so many races France throughout the year, there is simply no way a guy could be up there in every single race, especially the lesser regional races.
For example Philip Deignan who was considered the top amateur in France in 2004 won the Ronde de l'Isard, done well at Tour of Chablais, had a few placing in French cup races and that was it. There was lots of guys with more victories but Deignan's victories were considered more important. Its like a reflection of the Pro scene. Quality over quantity.
I am not saying JTL wouldnt have done well in the big races or not got a pro contract. I am saying there is a long way to go from doing well in a handful of races to actually securing a pro contract. The article would have us believe JTL was on the fast track to a pro contract which is plausible but also mere speculation. France is littered with cyclists including British riders who had far better results in France than JTL and never made it to pro level. Yanto Barker, Russell Downing, Andrew Jackson are 3 guys who come to mind who never made it on Euro teams. Dan Fleeman finished 2nd in that race you quoted and look how long it took him to get to Cervelo and he lasted one season.
El Fares obviously got his contract because he performed in the more important races later in the season and is French which always helps to get on a French team. As Paul Kimmage once said, foreign riders had to perform better than the French to stand any chance of getting a contract which is why so many of them wanted it more.
As I said, the article quoted misrepresents things slightly, I still dont see the 10 podium places. As usual, editors want to put a nice spin on things especially when its a rider from their own country. Finally the North of France is considered way stronger than the South in terms of amateur racing. Until VC La Pomme started doing well, there was very little happening down south.