All images: Wikimedia Commons
The team that no-one expected
It was good to be a Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale fan in 2024. The team had an unbelievable year in 2024, raising their arms 30 times, a new record for the Savoyard team in the 21st century.
One of the main architects of this season was Ben O’Connor. The Australian recorded the best season of his career, being extremely consistent from February to September. Indeed, he never finished lower than fifth on the stage races he took part in, recording a fourth place in the Giro and a second at La Vuelta, where he also won a stage. O’Connor also came back from the Worlds Championships with two medals, one silver in the road race and one gold in the Mixed Relay, rounding off the season at a wonderful fourth place in the UCI individual ranking.
Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale was also dominant on their home soil, with 19 wins in French races thanks to riders such as Sam Bennett, Benoît Cosnefroy and Alex Baudin. During the French Championships, one of their major objectives of the season, the team took home the two titles, the ITT with Bruno Armirail and the road race with Paul Lapeira.
In addition to these wins, the French team also shone at World Tour races, with seven stage wins at the top level of cycling throughout the season, including three in the Grand Tours. Indeed, Valentin Paret-Peintre took his first professional win during the Giro while his Italian teammate Andrea Vendrame raised his arms for the second time in his national Grand Tour and Ben O’Connor triumphed on the sixth stage of La Vuelta. The Ardennes Classics also saw the Savoy team perform with top fives at Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Aurélien Paret-Peintre) and at La Flèche Wallonne (Benoît Cosnefroy). The rider from Normandy also triumphed at De Brabantse Pijl.
Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale’s incredible year allowed them to finish 2024 in 6th place of the UCI classification, gaining 6000 points compared to 2023.
Making room for the Next Gen
The interseason has been really interesting for Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale. Indeed, the French team lost some of their best riders of last season, especially in the mountains team, with Ben O’Connor and Valentin Paret-Peintre. In order to replace them, Dominique Serieys and his staff turned to the next generation with five riders joining the team from the formation structures.
One of the most exciting names in this list is the young Paul Seixas. At only 18 years old, the rider from Lyon will be the youngest in the World Tour peloton in 2025. After absolutely dominating the Junior circuit last season, Paul Seixas will directly jump into the highest level of cycling, without passing by the U23 level. In 2024, this very complete rider became the ITT World Champion in his category, after a season where he also triumphed at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Giro della Lunigiana and the Tour du Pays de Vaud. It will be interesting to see how fast the young Frenchman adapts to the World Tour and if he can reveal himself as soon as 2025.
Four young riders who will hope to make an impact at the highest level in 2025 - clockwise from top left: Léo Bisiaux, Noa Isidore, Paul Seixas, Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen
Four other riders climbing into the World Tour for 2025 were part of the Development team of Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale last season. Among them, Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen has already made a name for himself. Indeed, the 22-year-old managed to raise his arms at his National Championships, ahead of very experienced riders such as Kasper Asgreen and Magnus Cort. This very quick rider will have to be watched in the case of reduced bunch sprints, along with his Australian teammate Oscar Chamberlain. The final additions from this Next Gen group are the two climbers Noa Isidore and Léo Bisiaux, who will try to confirm their great climbing potential after a very good season in the U23 peloton.
Apart from these five young men, Stefan Bissegger seems to be the most significant recruit for Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale. At 26 years old, the former ITT European Champion will try to get back to his best level and prove that he is still one of the best men in the world in the solo exercise. The former rider of EF Education-EasyPost will also be a very good ambassador for his team in order to improve the ITT bike, as he will bring all of his experience to Van Rysel’s mechanics.
Alongside Bissegger, Johannes Staune-Mittet could also prove to be a great deal for the Savoy team. Indeed, despite a complicated 2024 season, the Norwegian has proven that he was a very good climber in the past, winning the Giro Next Gen in 2023. At only 22 years old, he will have the capacity of proving himself as a leader in the biggest races in the World, especially following the departure of Ben O’Connor. The native of Lillehammer could find some help from Callum Scotson when the road will rise, while his compatriot Tord Gudmestad is more likely to shine in the Classics.
Benoît Cosnefroy dreams of World Tour
After a 2024 season where he showed once again his strength at the greatest level of cycling, Benoît Cosnefroy will try to surf on these performances in 2025. The rider from Normandy could maybe go back on the roads of the Tour de France, after missing it for the first time since 2018 last year.
In 2024, Benoit Cosnefroy got back to his best level, after a more complicated season in 2023. Indeed, the rider from Cherbourg was dominant on the French circuit, winning six times on his home soil. However, he was also one of the best in the peloton in some Classics, finishing sixth at Strade Bianche and fourth at La Flèche Wallonne. After a summer where he could not fulfil his Olympic dream as he was not in the list of the French coach Thomas Voeckler, Cosnefroy will be hungry for more in 2025, especially in World Tour races.
Of Cosnefroy's twenty professional victories, only two are at the World Tour level. The former winner of the Bretagne Classic will have at heart the aim of raising his arms again at the highest level of cycling after the 2022 edition of the Grand Prix of Québec. The exact calendar of Benoît Cosnefroy is not yet known but the French rider should be one of the leaders of his team at the Ardennes Classics before the Grand Tour season. It will be interesting to see if the Frenchman will discover the Giro or La Vuelta or if he will come back to his national Tour that will start in Lille, the city of his sponsor Decathlon.
Benoît Cosnefroy will hope to stand on the top step at World Tour level again in 2024 (image credits: MFonzatti)
How to replace Ben O’Connor
The departure of Ben O’Connor to Jayco-AlUla has created a hole in the mountains team of Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale. Indeed, the Australian posted the best season of his career, performing in almost every race that he started and bringing a lot of glory to his team.
The rider that seems the most suited to replace Primoz Roglič’s runner-up at La Vuelta is his former co-leader, Felix Gall. If at the beginning of 2024 the two riders both had a role of leader for the Grand Tours, the Austrian was not able to perform as well as his teammate and had to work for him during their common three-week race: La Vuelta. Before that, the winner of the stage at Courchevel in 2023 came back to the Tour de France with the general classification in mind. However, he couldn’t do better than a fourteenth place, more than fifteen minutes behind the top 10. In 2025, Felix Gall may participate at the French Grand Tour for the third year in a row; it is not known yet if it will be as a stage chaser or to play for a place in the top ten.
Behind Felix Gall, some riders could benefit from the departure of their former leader to gain the leadership of the team on some races. Aurélien Paret-Peintre for example, never really had his chance to try to play the general classification on a Grand Tour with a team around him. The native of Annemasse, former stage winner at the Giro, has announced that he was aiming for the Tour de France next season; it will be interesting to see how the leadership will be organized by Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale’s staff during the biggest race in the World.
The fact that both Paret-Peintre and Gall should go to the Tour de France next season is opening possibilities for other riders to shine at the Giro, especially the younger ones. Indeed, it could be a great test for some of the young recruits such as Johannes Staune-Mittet or Léo Bisiaux to discover a Grand Tour for the first time without too much pressure on their shoulders. With the help of more experienced climbers such as Nans Peters or Bruno Armirail, these young talents could learn a lot on a race like the Giro and, maybe, be the surprise guest at the end in Rome.
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