For one team, this year's Tour de France start is extra special: "Of course we want to make our sponsors proud"

Let's first go back to early December to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille. There, Decathlon AG2R was the first of all WorldTour teams to present its team and plans for 2025, but emphasized that it was important to keep it a transition year toward bigger goals. That's one of the reasons why the team signed Luke Rowe, with all his experience from Sky/INEOS.

With Rasmus Sojberg Pedersen, Leo Bisiaux, Oscar Chamberlain, Noa Isidore, and the then 17-year-old junior world champion Paul Seixas, a new wind blew through the French team. After barely six months, it is clear that the gamble has paid off: Seixas is hot in the peloton with his good performances in the Tour of the Alps and the Dauphine, and 19-year-old Aubin Sparfel has also impressed with a professional victory from the development team. The team has already won fourteen times this year.

In 2024, the team, then still mainly with Ben O'Connor, enjoyed unprecedented success with 30 victories. "My impression of the team was that it was all a bit old school. In a French way. Even after the successes they achieved in 2024. But that image has changed, especially now that I've spoken to people and riders who have been here for a long time. They say that in the last 12 to 24 months, it has completely changed in a positive way. Everyone is enthusiastic, really everyone. They are really curious to see how far they can go in the next five years," Rowe said in December.

That is why he chose this project and did not opt for the safe INEOS option. "I spoke to several teams but quickly felt this was the right place for me. I like being part of a journey, you know? We are where we are now, but we want more than that. That really appeals to me, and I feel that the resources, the people, and the passion are there."

Decathlon AG2R is busy on the transfer market with the upcoming arrival of Tiesj Benoot, Olav Kooij, Daan Hoole, Cees Bol, and Tobias Lund Andresen, among others. Meanwhile, the large sports group Decathlon is also investing a lot of time in further developing time trial (equipment), but it certainly doesn't want to disappoint in the upcoming Tour. With the start in its hometown of Lille, the stakes are high, as Rowe is well aware.

We asked Rowe whether this would put extra pressure on him. A smile appeared on his face. “I don't think you can put extra pressure on yourself in the Tour de France because that pressure is always there. The whole sport revolves around this race. So it doesn't bring any extra pressure, but make no mistake: of course, we want to make our sponsors proud. When you get close to the team's heart, it's a badge of honor. We want to perform and are motivated, but that goes for every team.”

“It's going to be very nervous anyway,” says the experienced Welshman about the Grand Départ in Lille, but certainly also about the subsequent stages through Normandy and Brittany. "As soon as you have a classification stage early on, the race is already decided in a way. Everyone is full of confidence at the start of a Tour de France, but in such a first test, you often get an order in the peloton."

"That provides more control. Now there's a first week and a half with more stress for everyone," he explains. "The roads are fine in those parts of France, but they are often open roads. It's usually less windy in the summer than in the earlier months of the year, but if there is a windy day, everyone knows what the consequences can be."

Felix Gall is the clear leader in the GC for Decathlon AG2R, and the Austrian is not precisely known as a man who likes to fight for position. How does Rowe and his team respond to that? “No one in the GC likes it because you can only lose in the first part of the Tour: crashing, losing teammates, and things like that. Gaining a little time is nice, but it never outweighs the risks.”

“However, we still have to get through it to reach the mountains and compete for a top ten or whatever,” says the former rider, who often found himself in that situation during his years with Sky and INEOS. “It doesn't matter if you're Vingegaard, Gall, or Pogacar; there's just not much to it. They prepare for months, and it can end in a second.”

Oliver Naesen currently fulfills Rowe's role at Sky and INEOS. What is that like for that type of rider? "It's a huge responsibility, but I always tried to forget that it was the Tour. I approached every race with the same mentality. Of course, there are a few more spectators, but you also have to remember that it's just a bike race. Bigger things are going on in the world."

Decathlon AG2R will have to do without Benoit Cosnefroy in the Tour de France. The puncheur from Normandy suffered a knee injury in a crash in the Tour of Switzerland and will not make the start of the Tour. Cosnefroy was scheduled to go for it in the punchy stages in the first week. In Lille, sprinter Sam Bennett has the chance to make his mark for the team, although nothing is certain yet.