All images: Wikimedia Commons
2024, a very complicated season
Since progressing to the World Tour in 2020, Cofidis has always been fighting in order to not be relegated back to the Pro Continental level. However, the past season was even more complicated than the previous ones, as the French team counted only five successes throughout the year. The first of them was without a doubt the most prestigious, as Benjamin Thomas won the fifth stage of the Giro after a wonderful breakaway. This win, in addition to being the most beautiful of Thomas’s road career, was also a liberation for all of his teammates, as the team had to wait until the 8th May to raise their arms for the first time.
Not long after, Axel Zingle also found his way to victory on the Boucles de l’Aulne, his only win in a season where he finished nine times on the second step of the podium. The other successes of Cofidis in 2024 came from the fast men, as Bryan Coquard sprinted his way to victory at the Tour de Suisse while Milan Fretin won twice on the French circuit.
In addition to their lack of victories, the team from Northern France did not perform amazingly in the biggest races in the World, costing them precious UCI points in their quest to stay in the World Tour. Only Ion Izagirre managed to perform in some one-day races at the biggest level with a top five at Il Lombardia and the Grand Prix of Montreal, while Guillaume Martin finished in the top 15 of the Tour de France and La Vuelta. Overall, Cofidis finished 20th in the UCI ranking, putting their position for the conservation of their World Tour license at the end of 2025 under threat.
Bryan Coquard provided one of very few bright spots for Cofidis in 2024 (image credit: MFonzatti)
One objective: Survival
The consequence of Cofidis’ poor 2024 season is that the French team are in danger of relegation to the Pro Conti level in 2026. Indeed, before the final and decisive year, Cedric Vasseur’s team is sitting 18th in the coefficient ranking, putting them in a very tricky position before the 2025 season. To try to stay in the World Tour, Cofidis had a very busy transfer window, with twelve riders joining the team.
The team chose to turn mainly to experienced riders to help them in their quest for survival, including the 32-year-old Dylan Teuns, who arrives from Israel-Premier Tech. The former winner of stages at the Tour de France and also winner of La Flèche Wallonne will be the leader of the team at the Ardennes Classics and will also aim for some World Tour stage wins, as will his new teammate Alex Aranburu. The Spaniard is a very important rider for UCI points, as he is capable of shining at different types of races. Indeed, the Spanish champion finished the year in the top 50 of the UCI classification, thanks to consistent results throughout the year.
Outside of these two recruits, Cofidis also needed to rebuild their mountains team after the departure of their leader Guillaume Martin but also of riders such as Simon Geschke and Gorka Izagirre. The role of leader at the biggest races in the World will go to Emanuel Buchmann. The German, former fourth place GC rider at the Tour de France, will try to give a new start to his career with his new team, after spending all his time as a pro with BORA-hansgrohe. When the road will rise, he will be helped by other recruits such as Simon Carr, Sylvain Moniquet and Sergio Samitier, in addition to the riders already present with the team from Northern France last year.
Finally, the main objective of Valentin Ferron and Damien Touzé will b to shine at the French Cup races, which can bring a lot of UCI points. Cofidis’s 2025 roster is completed by Frenchmen Clément Izquierdo, Sam Maisonobe and Paul Ourselin, and the Dutch Jan Maas, who should all have a role of domestique for the French team next season.
Emmanuel Buchmann and Dylan Teuns will be key for Cofidis' survival (image credits: Sebleouf)
A new challenge on steep roads
Since the promotion of Cofidis into the World Tour in 2020, the French team has had a lot of difficulties performing at the biggest level of cycling, especially when the road rises. Indeed, outside of some top 15s for Guillaume Martin, the French team had to rely on breakaways to exist during the races with a lot of positive ascent. With the pressure of relegation arriving at the end of next season. It will be crucial for Cédric Vasseur’s team that the new recruits in this field perform fast, in order to make the red jersey of the team visible in reduced pelotons.
The riskier bet of the lot is without a doubt Emanuel Buchmann. At 32 years old, the German has spent all of his professional career with BORA-hansgrohe and will discover a new environment for the first time. The native of Ravensburg in Southern Germany’s best season was in 2019, when he climbed to fourth place of the general classification at the Tour de France, concluding a season that also saw him in the top five of prestigious races such as the Critérium du Dauphiné, the Itzulia Basque Country and the UAE Tour. However, since Covid, the former German champion seems to have a lot more of difficulty sticking with the greatest climbers of the peloton, his best result in 2024 being a third place at the Tour of Hungary. In addition, the arrivals of riders such as Primoz Roglič and Jai Hindley at his former team forced him to become a domestique for his new leaders. With Cofidis, Emanuel Buchmann will regain his leader role and will hope to rediscover his legs of the past to help Cofidis avoid relegation.
Around Buchmann, Cofidis built an interesting team of riders that can be domestiques but also stage chasers depending on the objective of the team. Indeed, Simon Carr has proved that he was able to raise his arms on mountainous profiles at the Tour of the Alps, while Sergio Samitier already competed for the KOM jersey at the Vuelta a Espana. In addition to these new riders, the Spanish pair composed of Jesus Herrada and Ion Izagirre could also be very important riders for Cofidis in their quest for survival. Indeed, the former has already raised his arms three times at his national Grand Tour while the latter is part of the circle of the stage winners on all three Grand Tours. Even if they are near the end of their careers at 34 and 35 years old respectively, their experience could help the French team to avoid relegation next season.
Another rider who should be very important in this objective is Dylan Teuns. At 32 years old, the Belgian has an impressive trophy cabinet, with stage wins at the Tour de France, the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Tour of Romandie. The native of Diest will also be one of the main cards of Cofidis at the Ardennes Classics, adding his experience to that of Ion Izagirre. Indeed, Teuns already triumphed at the top of the Mur de Huy at the Flèche Wallonne, while Izagirre finished in the top five at Il Lombardia last season. These two combined could make a great cocktail for Cédric Vasseur’s team next season, especially with the help of riders such as Stefano Oldani and Sylvain Moniquet.
Alex Aranburu will be one of Cofidis' most vital assets in 2025 (image credit: Cs-wolves)
Coquard and Aranburu: The quest for UCI points
In this final year of the race for the World Tour spots, the competition is shaping up to be very close. Every result will count and the most complete riders should be the key for the teams concerned. Indeed, a rider who is fast but also able to pass the hills or the cobblestones are extremely precious for a team in danger, as they are able to score UCI points at a lot of different races.
Bryan Coquard can be categorised as one of these riders. The native of Saint-Nazaire in Western France is not among the best sprinters in the world when the road is flat but he is one of the best quick riders when the road rises, allowing him to sprint in smaller groups when the best sprinters couldn’t follow. This ability has allowed him to raise his arms twice in the World Tour including once last season, at the Tour de Suisse. There was a hill in the final 20 kilometres that eliminated some of the fastest men in the peloton, while Coquard passed and sprinted for victory. His good performances on the French circuit will also be very important in 2025, as those races, where there is less competition than in World Tour races, can bring a lot of points for Cofidis.
The same applies to one of the most important recruitments for Cofidis during the interseason. Indeed, at 29 years old, Alex Aranburu is at the peak of his career and he could be one of the main protagonists of Cofidis’s survival. The recent Spanish Champion is one of the most complete in the peloton and is able to play a primary role in a lot of different races. For example, in 2024, the Basque rider finished in the top 15 at Liège-Bastogne-Liège but also in the top ten of several bunch sprints at the Tour de France. Even if he does not raise his arms very often, Aranburu is an incredible rider to have for a team fighting against relegation, as he brings a lot of UCI points. In 2024, the Spaniard finished in the top ten 20 times out of his 60 starts, an amazing ratio of one in every three races.
Alongside these two, other riders at Cofidis 2025 roster also have the capability of scoring points on different parcours. Indeed, Milan Fretin and Alexis Renard are good sprinters that also perform well on the cobblestones, very important for smaller Belgian races. For the French cup races, Piet Allegaert and Stanislaw Aniolkowski should be the protected riders in the case of a bunch sprint while Benjamin Thomas and Valentin Ferron should have a more offensive role. In addition to these names, riders such as Anthony Perez, Stefano Oldani or Ludovic Robeet could also compete for the win at some smaller races. However, one of the main questions for Cofidis’s survival in the World Tour will be the capacity of these riders to perform at the highest level of cycling, against the best riders in the World.
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