Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team () is a French
cycling team with
UCI WorldTeam
A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour
...
status. Its title sponsors are French sporting goods retailer
Decathlon and French insurance firm
AG2R La Mondiale
AG2R La Mondiale is a French multinational insurance firm headquartered in Paris that engages in global insurance, financial services, supplementary retirement fund and supplementary pension.
With €29 billion in contributions in (2017), AG2R L ...
. The team is predominantly French.
History
In 1992
Vincent Lavenu
Vincent Lavenu (born 12 January 1956) is a French former professional road bicycle racer and is currently the general manager of UCI WorldTeam .
Professional career
Born in Briançon, Hautes-Alpes, Lavenu had been competing as an amateur in Fran ...
, who had just retired from professional cycling, started a professional cycling team with Chazal as the main sponsor. Lavenu had previously organised sponsorship from Chazal of his last professional team. This sponsor stayed from 1992 to 1995. In 1996 Petit Casino, a chain of coffee shops in supermarkets, took over the sponsorship of the team. At this time the team was a second division team that relied on the public to sponsor the team. The team had the saying "''Petit Casino- c’est votre equipe''" – "it's your team", which signified this involvement of the public.
In 1997 Casino, the supermarket chain that contained the Petit Casino coffee shops, took over the sponsorship of the team and the budget increased substantially. Lavenu's team could compete in the big races such as the
classics. The team obtained successes with
Alexander Vinokourov,
Jaan Kirsipuu
Jaan Kirsipuu (born 17 July 1969 in Tartu) is an Estonian former road bicycle racer, who currently works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team .
He spent the majority of his career riding under the management of Vincent Lavenu, initial ...
and
Lauri Aus.
The insurance company Ag2r Prevoyance took over as the main sponsor in 2000. The team obtained further successes with
Laurent Brochard
Laurent Brochard (born 26 March 1968 in Le Mans, France) is a retired professional road racing cyclist from France. In 1997 he won a stage of the Tour de France and became world road champion in San Sebastián, Spain.
Brochard was a runner an ...
,
Jaan Kirsipuu
Jaan Kirsipuu (born 17 July 1969 in Tartu) is an Estonian former road bicycle racer, who currently works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team .
He spent the majority of his career riding under the management of Vincent Lavenu, initial ...
and
Jean-Patrick Nazon
Jean-Patrick Nazon (born 18 January 1977, in Épinal) is a French former professional road bicycle racer who turned professional in 1997. He is the brother of former racing cyclist Damien Nazon.
Major results
;1998
: 6th Overall Circuit de Lo ...
. In 2006, the team joined the
UCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, ...
, following the signings of big cycling names
Francisco Mancebo
Francisco Mancebo Pérez (born 9 March 1976) is a Spanish professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . He initially rode for team , but moved to in 2006.
Mancebo is a stage race specialist, with good climbing and indiv ...
and
Christophe Moreau
Christophe Moreau (born 12 April 1971 in Vervins) is a French former professional road racing cyclist. For many years Moreau was the primary French contender for the general classification in the Tour de France: he finished in the top 12 in the G ...
.
Fassa Bortolo's exit from the competition had freed a licence and AG2R was the only team left vying for the license, as
Comunidad Valenciana voluntarily withdrew, while the proposed new team of former Fassa Bortolo sporting director
Giancarlo Ferretti
Giancarlo Ferretti (born 16 October 1941 in Lugo) is the former manager of the now-disbanded Italian professional road bicycle racing team, Fassa Bortolo, sponsored by the Italian cement company of the same name.
Fassa Bortolo was a top-ranked ...
turned out to be without financial backing. Ag2r obtained success in the
2006 Tour de France
The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Landis. Due to the United ...
with a stage win by
Sylvain Calzati, and a day in the yellow jersey as leader of the
general classification
The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...
by
Cyril Dessel
Cyril Dessel (born 29 November 1974 in Rive-de-Gier, Loire) is a French former professional road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2000 to 2011.
In 2006, he won the Tour Méditerranéen on the UCI Europe Tour. Then in the 20 ...
.
Rinaldo Nocentini
Rinaldo Nocentini (born 25 September 1977) is an Italian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 1999 and 2019 for the , , Formaggi Pinzolo Fiavé, , and teams.
In the 2009 Tour de France, his first participati ...
took the
yellow jersey
The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey (french: maillot jaune ).
History
Th ...
after
stage 7 of the
2009 Tour de France
The 2009 Tour de France was the 96th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on 4 July in the principality of Monaco with a individual time trial which included a section of the Circuit de Monaco. The race visite ...
after a successful breakaway in which fellow Ag2r-La Mondiale rider
Christophe Riblon also took part and earned the daily
combativity award
The combativity award is a prize given in road bicycle racing to a stage's or the overall race's most aggressive rider.
References
{{cycling-stub
Cycling jerseys ...
. Nocentini retained the race leadership for eight stages, and Ag2r-La Mondiale also led the team classification from stage 7 to stage 11 and for one further day after stage 14.
In 2014, the team had great results at the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
, winning a stage and having
Jean-Christophe Péraud
Jean-Christophe Péraud (born 22 May 1977) is a retired French cyclist who rode for and during his professional career. He was a member of the French team at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
Career
Péraud was European cross-country champ ...
taking second place in the overall classification. In October of that year, it was announced that AG2R would continue to sponsor the team through 2018, at the
2016 Tour de France
The 2016 Tour de France was the 103rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 2 July in Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, and concluding on 24 July with the Champs-Élysées st ...
the sponsorship was extended a further two years – into the 2020 season.
In September 2020, the team signed a contract with BMC as their bike supplier from 2021 for three years. The team will also be known under the name AG2R
Citroën Team from the 2021 season after the French car company announced that they had become the co-sponsor of the team.
The team experienced further success during the
2021 Tour de France, when Tour debutant
Ben O'Connor ascended to victory on Stage 9 in the Alpine village of Tignes.
In November 2023,
Decathlon was announced as the co-title sponsor of the team in a five-year deal. The team will be called Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale from 2024. Decathlon will also be replacing BMC as the bike supplier of the team, with the team using Decathlon's
Van Rysel bikes. Citroën will stay on as the team's official car supplier.
Doping
On 21 September 2012
Steve Houanard tested positive for
EPO in an out-of-competition test and was provisionally suspended.
On 15 May 2013
Sylvain Georges tested positive for the banned stimulant
Heptaminol and failed to start stage 11 of the
2013 Giro d'Italia
The 2013 Giro d'Italia was the 96th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in Naples and finished in Brescia. Vincenzo Nibali of team Astana won the general classification.
Teams
As a UCI World Tour race, t ...
. Georges blamed the positive result on the freely available product 'Ginkor Fort' (made from
Ginkgo biloba
''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of tree native to China. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million years ago. Fossil ...
). On 21 May Georges 'B Sample' also tested positive for the stimulant causing the team to voluntarily remove itself from the
2013 Critérium du Dauphiné
The 2013 Critérium du Dauphiné was the sixty-fifth running of the Critérium du Dauphiné cycling stage race; a race, organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation, rated as a World Tour event on the UCI calendar, the highest classification such ...
in accordance with MPCC rules. As a result of the positive Georges was banned by the French Cycling Federation for 6 months.
On 10 March 2015 the UCI announced that
Lloyd Mondory
Lloyd Mondory (born 26 April 1982) is a French restaurateur and former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2015 for the team before he was suspended for four years for the use of erythropoietin (EPO). The b ...
had tested positive for EPO on 17 February in an out-of-competition test. As a result, Mondory was suspended pending the outcome of his B sample analysis.
Team roster
Major wins
World & National champions
;1997
: French Road Race, Stéphane Barthe
:
![MaillotBélgica](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/MaillotB%C3%A9lgica.PNG)
Belgian Road Race, Marc Streel
;1998
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Road Race, Jaan Kirsipuu
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Time Trial, Jaan Kirsipuu
;1999
:
![MaillotFra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/MaillotFra.PNG)
French Time Trial, Gilles Maignan
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Time Trial, Jaan Kirsipuu
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Road Race, Jaan Kirsipuu
;2000
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Road Race, Lauri Aus
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Time Trial, Lauri Aus
;2001
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Time Trial, Jaan Kirsipuu
:
![MaillotBélgica](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/MaillotB%C3%A9lgica.PNG)
Belgian Road Race, Ludovic Capelle
;2002
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Road Race, Jaan Kirsipuu
:
![MaillotIrlanda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/MaillotIrlanda.PNG)
Irish Road Race, Mark Scanlon
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Time Trial, Jaan Kirsipuu
;2003
:
![MaillotIrlanda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/MaillotIrlanda.PNG)
Irish Road Race, Mark Scanlon
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Time Trial, Jaan Kirsipuu
:Spanish Time Trial, Inigo Bernardez
;2004
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Road Race, Erki Putstep
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Time Trial, Jaan Kirsipuu
:
![MaillotUcrania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/MaillotUcrania.PNG)
Ukrainian Time Trial, Yuriy Krivtsov
;2006
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Road Race, Erki Pütsep
;2007
:
![MaillotFra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/MaillotFra.PNG)
French Road Race, Christophe Moreau
;2008
:
![MaillotEstonia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/MaillotEstonia.PNG)
Estonian Time Trial, Tanel Kangert
:
![MaillotMoldavia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/MaillotMoldavia.PNG)
Moldovan Road Race, Alexandre Pliușchin
;2009
:
![MaillotIrlanda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/MaillotIrlanda.PNG)
Irish Road Race, Nicolas Roche
;2010
:
![MaillotSuiza](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/MaillotSuiza.PNG)
Swiss Road Race, Martin Elmiger
;2012
:
![MaillotLuxemburgo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/MaillotLuxemburgo.PNG)
Luxembourg Time Trial, Ben Gastauer
;2014
:
![MaillotBielorrusia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/MaillotBielorrusia.PNG)
Belarusian Road Race, Yauheni Hutarovich
;2015
:
![MaillotCan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/MaillotCan.PNG)
Canada Time Trial, Hugo Houle
;2017
:
![Jersey rainbow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Jersey_rainbow.svg)
World U23 Road Race, Benoît Cosnefroy
:
![MaillotFra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/MaillotFra.PNG)
French Time Trial, Pierre Latour
:
![MaillotBélgica](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/MaillotB%C3%A9lgica.PNG)
Belgian Road Race, Oliver Naesen
;2018
:
![MaillotLituania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/MaillotLituania.PNG)
Lithuania Road Race, Gediminas Bagdonas
:
![MaillotLituania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/MaillotLituania.PNG)
Lithuania Time Trial, Gediminas Bagdonas
:
![MaillotFra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/MaillotFra.PNG)
French Time Trial, Pierre Latour
;2019
:
![MaillotFra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/MaillotFra.PNG)
French Cyclo-cross, Clément Venturini
:
![MaillotLituania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/MaillotLituania.PNG)
Lithuania Time Trial, Gediminas Bagdonas
;2020
:
![MaillotFra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/MaillotFra.PNG)
French Cyclo-cross, Clément Venturini
;2021
:
![MaillotFra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/MaillotFra.PNG)
French Cyclo-cross, Clément Venturini
;2022
:
![MaillotLuxemburgo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/MaillotLuxemburgo.PNG)
Luxembourg Time Trial, Bob Jungels
References
External links
*
Chambery CF
{{DEFAULTSORT:AG2R Citroen Team
UCI WorldTeams
Cycling teams based in France
Cycling teams established in 1992
1992 establishments in France