The Decathlon wants to become a super team and does not skimp on budget

The 40 years that a Frenchman has been waiting, since Bernard Hinault did it in 1985, the Tour de France is a great wound to the pride of this country that Decathlon wants to solve with a medium-term commitment that begins with the renovation of its structures that has just been announced.

AG2R-La Mondiale leaves sponsorship after 28 years in the peloton and hands over to Decathlon

The transition in the veteran AG2R team is consolidated, a paradigm shift that began with Decathlon's sponsorship last year. Now, the French sports multinational remains solely in charge of the cycling team with a clear intention, to increase its contribution and strengthen it to bring it to the highest level. All with a clear objective, to bring French cycling back to the forefront, including the assault on the yellow jersey of the Tour de France.

A growth process that, obviously, begins with the search for a secondary sponsor with the intention of having a budget of more than 40 million euros for the next season, a significant increase considering that this year they had 28 million.

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However, it does not seem to be a problem as indicated by the words of team director Dominique Serieys who pointed out that negotiations with the new sponsor are very advanced "We trust that we can announce the name before the end of the Tour de France" while being clear about the trajectory they intend to follow "Our goal is to enter the Top 5 and then the Top 3 in the world and win the Tour de France by 2030".

Decathlon's bet to achieve this milestone seems to fall on young Paul Seixas who, at 18 years old, is completing his first season as a professional in the French team after coming from the development team. In his debut season, he has left good impressions after several honorable positions in the Tour of the Alps or the 8th place he occupied in the general classification of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Dominique Serieys is clear about it "When he was a junior, I met him at his parents' house; I spent a whole afternoon there. He was the only one who told me that his ambition was to win the Tour de France". A bet on young cyclists that is more of an obligation than a choice "all the great leaders have contracts until 2030, not to mention the value of their contracts. Our job is to identify and train".

Along the way, Decathlon sets more achievable goals, starting with the classics in general and the Paris-Roubaix, the classic at home. Let's not forget that Lille, where Decathlon's headquarters is located, is just 3 kilometers from Roubaix. A first objective for which the French team is already reinforcing by incorporating experienced cyclists like Olav Kooij and Tiesj Benoot for 2026.