The boss of the Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale team does not want to set a limit. With 26 victories in 2024, the French team is currently the third force in the peloton. But Dominique Serieys is not satisfied with it. “I am a winner,” insists the former boss of the Paris Défense Arena and the Mitsubishi team, with which he won seven Paris-Dakar races.
“We have a goal in front of us, which is Paris-Roubaix, with a company (Décathlon) which is from the north of France, with a bike called Van Rysel – I come from Lille. So we are going to launch a program working on Roubaix and on the Flandrian and Ardennes classics to achieve results there too, as on the Grand Tours”, proclaims Dominique Serieys in the columns of AFP.
When he talks about the Grand Tours, the boss of Décathlon-AG2R La Mondiale obviously thinks of the Tour de France. “This year, it’s been 39 years since a Frenchman won the Tour de France. So we’re going to work on that. We have certain young riders who are going to climb the World Tour and who have the ability. We have reinforced the whole part of the biological passport, medical tests, the health of the runner Training too, with downhill coaches These are small details which are almost not seen but which mean that today we do not neglect them. Nothing.”
“In 2026, 2027, 2028, we will have to perform (on the big Tours)”
“We have put in place a strategic plan with ambitious objectives such as winning a Grand Tour,” continues the manager. “2025 will be another year of transition. In 2026, 2027, 2028, we will have to perform.”
With notably two stage victories in the Giro (Valentin Paret-Peintre and Andrea Vendrame) or two titles at the French championships (Paul Lapeira in the road event, Bruno Armirail in the time trial), the training tricolor has had a breathtaking start to the season.
“We reinforced everything,” explains Dominique Serieys. “I took a good look at what our competitors like UAE or Visma were doing. It’s not complicated: they run less than us but they prepare for races much better. So we reinforced the altitude training.”
Concerning the budget, the manager confirms a future increase. “We are starting to enter the top 10 grid. We will grow over the next few years to probably approach 35 or 40 million euros. Certainly, we do not have the budget of UAE, which undoubtedly does not we don’t have a budget. But we must not hide behind this excuse. We must first be well organized, well structured, and have real visibility of what we want to do. in terms of recruitment, where we want to go and I think it will work.
Original article published on RMC Sport
