FDJ-SUEZ team manager Stephen Delcourt has dropped another hint that Demi Vollering could join the French women’s WorldTour team in 2025, revealing plans to increase the team’s budget by 20% for each of the next four years in an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe.
Title sponsors FDJ and SUEZ are set to continue their funding of the team despite interest from other sponsors, while changes in the roster could see Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig leave after five years with the French team.
“Our budget is €4,000,000, but I think it will be higher than my projections at the start of the year because costs have exploded,” Delcourt told L’Equipe.
“These needs will require significant growth in the future. The goal is to aim for an increase of between 15 and 20% in the budget each year until 2028. Our budget has already increased fourfold in five years.”
Delcourt has avoided denying reports that Vollering may join FDJ-SUEZ, citing the links as an indication of the strength of the team.
"The rumours that link Demi Vollering with FDJ-SUEZ only confirm the viability of the team's project implemented since 2006 and built on hard work and humility over the years," the team recently told Cyclingnews.
“Demi Vollering is a huge champion. At the age of 27, she has already added the biggest races to her list of achievements, the Tour de France, the Ardennaises, the Vuelta, the Strade Bianche,” Delcourt told L’Equipe.
“Any big-name cyclist who shares those ambitions will stick with us. Each cyclist must also be able to adhere to the team's human and ethical project. Having several leaders is in the team's DNA, it doesn't scare us."
Vollering is at the centre of a huge women’s transfer season, with Elisa Longo Borghini moving on from Lidl-Trek and Kasia Niewiadoma also out of contract at the end of 2024.
Vollering has become isolated at SD Worx as Lotte Kopecky and Lorena Wiebes stay at the team and take over leadership. However, Vollering is set to defend her Tour de France Femmes victory this summer after the Paris Olympics. She is reportedly valued at close to €1 million per season due to her stage race talents and recent success.
Under UCI rules, riders' transfers cannot be finalised until the official transfer period of August 1 to December 31. However, team managers, riders and their agents are now busy working on details.
Cavalli and Uttrup Ludwig are at the end of their contracts with FDJ-SUEZ, while Évita Muzic has extended her contract until 2027.
“Marta was the victim of a serious accident during the 2022 Tour, and twenty-two months later, she still has after-effects. I only have one priority: to be the best support for her,” Delcourt said.
“Cecilie had a complicated start to the season. Now, the objective is to regain her status as a top 10 rider in the world. She should be in good shape for her goals this summer: the Olympic Games, the Tour de France and the World Championships in Zurich.
“We cannot keep cyclists at any cost. If they have offers higher than what I can offer, I forbid myself from judging them because their career are short.
“Grace Brown has her destiny in her hands," Delcourt said of the Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes winner.
"If she wants to continue, she will continue with us and I hope we can find an agreement. It's unimaginable for me to see her wearing another jersey.
“Évita is a symbol of our team. She arrived very young in 2018 but she progresses each year with great humility. She is a French rider who is not afraid to shine internationally. But Évita's goal is not to be the first Tricolore in France. It's just about being the best."
Delcourt has set some high ambitions for the next four years. “The team wants to win the three great Tours and the six great classics in the next five years,” he made clear.
“Our project is ambitious. We had a first cycle between 2020 and 2023, which was to settle into the WorldTour, with an increase in the number of victories. Now, we are approaching a 2024-2028 cycle by setting ourselves ultra-ambitious WorldTour goals. We don't have any limits, we want to tick off the biggest races.”
