The Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team will reportedly have a budget of €26 million for 2024, three million more than in 2023, with new management, new sponsors, new riders and plans to create a new women’s team for 2025.
The team's Junior and Under 23 development sides will also continue, offering a stream of talented young riders who can swap in and out of the WorldTour squad during the season.
French insurance brand AG2R La Mondiale has been a long-term sponsor of the team but agreed to Decathlon becoming the team’s first name and major sponsor.
Citroën came on board as a title sponsor in 2021 but decided to end their sponsorship early, leaving a hole of €6 million in the team’s budget. They remain as vehicle sponsors in 2024 but the loss of their funding had put the future of the team at risk.
Fortunately, Decathlon, who sponsored the team’s bikes between 2000 and 2007, decided the time was right to promote their name globally and give their high-end cycling brand Van Rysel credibility by sponsoring a WorldTour team.
AG2R La Mondiale has become a shareholder in the team, welcoming Decathlon as a partner as part of a five-year deal. Long-term team boss Vincent Lavenu’s role will change from that of General Manager to Sports Manager. The arrival of Decathlon makes the team far more global with the team presentation done in English and streamed globally.
“It’s an exceptional, historic moment,” Lavenu said during the presentation.
“The team was at risk of disappearing, so the first goal was to sustain things over time. Now we’re sure to go on until 2028, with encouraging prospects. A budget of €26 million will position us at a good level. But it’s important to remember that, unlike many foreign teams, our riders are salaried and that we pay social security contributions.”
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale have signed Sam Bennett from Bora-Hansgrohe and Tour de France stage winner Victor Lafay from Cofidis. The Irish sprinter is hoping to return to his best in July after two difficult seasons with the German team, while Lafay will also target the Ardennes Classics.
The 2024 Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale roster also includes Australia’s Ben O’Connor, who was fourth in the 2021 Tour de France, former under-23 world champion and hilly Classics rider Benoît Cosnefroy, 2023 Tour de France stage winner Felix Gall, Giro d’Italia stage winner Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Belgian Classics specialist Oliver Naesen and the USA’s Larry Warbasse.
Other new signings include Giro d’Italia pink jersey wearer Bruno Armirail and Belgians Dries de Bondt, Sander de Pestel and Gianluca Pollefliet. The French team's headline rider, Greg van Avermaet, retired this season after spending the final three years of his career with AG2R La Mondiale.
The arrival of Decathlon has sparked a number of equipment changes and the demise of the iconic brown bib shorts, long used by the team. The new jersey is Decathlon blue and white, with the sponsor logo again diagonal across the chest. Van Rysel will provide the bikes, helmet and sunglasses, replacing BMC as the bike sponsor.
Naesen initially hesitated about extending his contract with the team when there was concern about the performance of the new bikes.
However, Van Rysel appears to have worked hard with SwissSide French aerospace experts Onera to create the RCR road bike and the XCR time trial bike that looks very similar to other top-end bikes in the WorldTour peloton. The RCR has dropped seat stays, a narrow head tube and front end and wider seat stays. Shimano replaces Campagnolo as the component supplier, with Deda Elementi working with Van Rysel on the aero cockpits. The bikes on display during the team presentation were fitted with 28mm Continental tyres and Fizik saddles.
The estimated price of around €9,000 for the RCR, means Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale should have one of the cheapest bikes in the WorldTour peloton but still be competitive.
“They built us fabulous bikes in less than a year,” Lavenu enthused. “If the riders don't win, they won't be able to say: it's because of the bikes, because they are extraordinary.”
Several riders were involved in the research and development of the new bikes, including Naesen and Stan De Wulf, with Decathlon buying and testing rival brands.
"When you think of Decathlon, you immediately think of bikes for novices. That was a concern of some riders at first,” Lavenu admitted.
"I haven't received a single negative comment yet. Every time we let a rider test the bike, the first reaction is: 'Unbelievable, unbelievable',"
The team management and riders are unlikely to say anything bad about the bikes at the team presentation but Naesen seemed genuinely enthusiastic.
"During my contract negotiations I was lucky enough to test the bike last season,” he said.
“I was blown away, just like the other riders who tested the bike. To put it bluntly: you don't have to fight to get the bike going. It really is a very fast bike.”
