This Friday, the Groupama-FDJ United cycling team's 2026 presentation took place at Groupama's headquarters in Paris.

It was an opportunity to officially mark the handover from Marc Madiot to Thierry Cornec, but also to present the team's new identity (which is changing its name to adopt the "United" of the increasingly international FDJ United group), to present the new bike, to review the year 2025, and to present the ambitions for this new season.

Let's take a look at all this in video and in detail below!

The handover between Marc Madiot and Thierry Cornec

Thirty years ago, in 1997, a few years after the end of his cycling career, Marc Madiot created the La Française des Jeux cycling team. Still under the FDJ banner (in 2012 with BigMat) and since 2018 with Groupama as well, the team has endured for three decades.

Now aged 66 (and turning 67 this year), Marc Madiot had to hand over the reins if he wanted the team to continue for even longer, which is what he did recently, allowing Thierry Cornec to take over. Having worked for Mavic but above all for Lapierre Cycles, it was from his position at this former partner of the cycling team that Groupama-FDJ recruited him and he became deputy general manager... before now becoming general manager. Marc Madiot is taking on the role of President, working on developing the structure and with its current partners, as well as seeking out new ones.

It was during this team presentation that Marc Madiot officially handed over the reins to Thierry Cornec at the start of the team's 30th season. The team's founding manager explained that, having been born on a farm and having had the goal of "making it last, making it endure" since the team's inception, it was important to prepare for the future. He compared his work to a farm, where it is important to "take care of the day-to-day, be at work 365 days a year, and respect who we are and where we are." He said he was "very happy to be part of this special day" for him (even if he seemed a little emotional! [which is quite normal]), "because I think we have achieved something together, all the people who have been part of the team over the years, thanks first of all to La Française des Jeux, and also to Groupama, which joined us in a wonderful marriage of love for cycling, and other partners."
"And this story continues," but "it's time to ensure the transition. And when you're a farmer's son, transition is the most important thing!"

And although he said his retirement was still a long way off, he emphasized that the team "must continue, must live on!".
Watch his speech in the video below:


And if you want to know what Marc Madiot is referring to when he says "we lost Philippe Gilbert," go here.

The 2025 review

It was then naturally Thierry Cornec, the new general manager, who took stock of 2025, describing a year that "did not live up to our expectations, particularly in terms of victories and world rankings." However, Marc Madiot and Cornec accept this assessment and are aware of the difficulties they encountered, particularly with some of the team's leaders and in the sprint sector.

Looking ahead to 2026, they nevertheless considered that 2025 was not a wasted year. They consider it to be a formative year, which has resulted in and where they saw "a very strong spirit, the DNA of the team, commitment, and the ability to strategically target certain key moments, particularly in the post-Tour period after the August break. With notable victories for Romain (Grégoire) in the Tour of Britain (victory in stage 4 and overall victory) and the Tour of Luxembourg (stages 1 and 5), as well as victory for David (Gaudu), who was having a difficult year (stage 3 of the Tour of Spain). We had a small window of opportunity at the start of the Vuelta and we were able to seize it, with David doing so in the most beautiful way possible. Finally, the positive signs we saw in the Vuelta from riders such as Brieuc (Rolland), Thibaud (Gruel), and Clément Braz are signs that have helped us structure 2026".

Evolution of identity: Groupama-FDJ United adopts a new graphic identity

This year, the team is adopting the addition of "United" from the FDJ United group, but it is also adopting a new visual identity, composed of the colors blue/white/red and a superimposition of two hexagons (there is a slightly far-fetched explanation that the hexagon in the background represents the staff and the hexagon in front represents performance, the riders, and "the paths that climb" the team's progress, but apart from that, I'd rather spare you the details!). Check it out in the video below:

The new bike: Wilier Filante SLR ID2 2026

And that's not the only new feature; the bike the team will be riding is also new. The Wilier Filante SLR ID2 2026 is a versatile aero bike with which the team hopes to improve its performance, as Jérémy Roy, technical and partnership director, explains:


The new Miche product (yes, he's not talking about Mickey, the Disney character with big ears 😂) that Jérémy mentions concerns the wheels used, and it could be announced as early as the end of the week at Velofollies!

The 2026 objectives

The team has ambitious goals for 2026. Thierry Cornec says, "We want to win more, more than 20 victories, we want to win better: in the Tour de France, and get back into the top 10 of the general classification with David (Gaudu), and we want to continue to bring to life what Marc said — the identity of this team, its personality, its uniqueness, that blend of audacity and high standards that makes this team count in the international peloton."

Philippe Mauduit, director of the racing division, added that the team also has "a real desire to get back on track in the sprint, with the arrival of Matteo (Milan) and the return of Paul (Penhoët) after his serious injury a year and a half ago. There is a real desire to restructure this sprint group, with the arrival of a new sports director dedicated to supporting these riders and a working group with Olivier Mazenot (data scientist in the team) on data, coaches, so a real desire to relaunch the sprint with young riders and real potential."

The team is also setting its sights on the Flanders classics, with the arrival of Romain Grégoire in this group, along with Valentin Madouas and Bastien Tronchon. And even though snow prevented Thursday's scheduled reconnaissance from taking place, the ambitions remain intact, according to Valentin Madouas!

We talked about the goals with David Gaudu:

The team's new recruits

Nine new riders (actually eight, as one of them arrived in June 2025) are joining Groupama-FDJ United for 2026:

• Clément Berthet (28), who talks about a new start in his career, having spent four and a half years, and therefore most of his career so far, with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale.
  
  At Groupama-FDJ United, he is aiming for the overall classification in the Giro d'Italia and then the Vuelta a España (no Tour de France this year for the French rider), but he will also be aiming for his first professional victory!
  He will start the season with the Clasica de Almeria and the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol.
  
• Bastien Tronchon (23) and Ewen Costiou (23) were both present at the presentation and said they appreciated the team's confidence in them for the next three years. They will both be teammates for the Flandriennes, among others.
• Matteo Milan (22) has been recruited from the Lidl-Trek reserve team for the sprint. As Philippe Mauduit explained, the aim is to build a strong core for the sprint, and Matteo is aiming for results in WorldTour races.
• Lewis Bower (21) comes from the continental team and actually joined the team in June 2025. In 2026, he will start with the Tour Down Under, but he is especially looking forward to the rounds of the Coupe de France, as we can read in the team's press kit, while thanks to sponsor FDJ United, this calendar has actually been renamed the FDJ United Series!
• Maxime Decomble (20) also comes from the continental team and performed particularly well in the Tour de l'Avenir and Paris-Tours in 2025. With the UCI WorldTeam, he will focus on time trials and hopes to improve his mountain climbing skills in order to enhance his overall ranking.
• Titouan Fontaine (20) also comes from the continental team and would like to develop into a model and reliable teammate, making himself indispensable to the team.
• Axel Huens (24), who comes from Unibet Tietema Rockets, has been recruited to lead the train for sprinters Paul Penhoët and Matteo Milan. He is also interested in the spring classics, particularly Paris-Roubaix, which takes place almost in his backyard.
• Josh Kench (24) is a bit of an outsider among the new recruits at the moment. He has raced for small foreign teams, most recently for Li Ning Star. His first goal will therefore be—as he himself says—to get back up to speed with European cycling before becoming a key rider for the team's climbers.

Some figures about the team

In 2026, the Groupama-FDJ United cycling team will have:

> 8 riders from "La Conti" (the Groupama-FDJ United continental team)
> an average age of 26
> the youngest riders aged 20 (Maxime Decomble and Titouan Fontaine)
> the oldest rider aged 36 (Rudy Molard)
> and 5 nationalities represented (France, Australia, Italy, Luxembourg, and Switzerland)

door Thomas Vergouwen
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