Team boss Vollering sounds the alarm: fewer riders and races for FDJ-Suez in 2026

Demi Vollering's manager spoke to Cyclism'Actu at the presentation of the 2026 Tour de France (Femmes) route in Paris. “When we assess 2025, it’s very positive. We had an excellent season and were the best team in the world, but one thing is clearly missing. That is the overall victory in the Tour de France Femmes.”

“But we have nothing to be ashamed of: we still finished second and didn't lose because of a mistake or problem in our preparation. No, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was truly unbeatable and stood above the rest,” Delcourt admits honestly. “It's now up to us to raise our level if we want to win the Tour in 2026. I see some pitfalls in the course, but we're going to prepare well,” he says, referring to Mont Ventoux, among other things.

FDJ-Suez will start the coming season with 16 riders, down from 18 in 2025. Franziska Koch and Eva van Agt, among others, are joining the team, while Nina Buijsman, Lauren Molengraaf, and Loes Adegeest, who is leaving for Lidl-Trek, are also leaving the team.

“We have a very solid group. But I must also say that the economic situation is very bad. I have never had such easy meetings with new potential sponsors, but then getting them to commit to us has never been so difficult,” says Delcourt.

“We are in an economic crisis, which means that sponsorship is not a priority for companies, and we understand that. So we have to fight on that front. We would rather reduce the selection to sixteen riders. Then we'll just race a little less in 2026,” he explains.

“We will be riding between five and ten percent fewer races, but that's not a problem. The life of a top athlete is very tough, so this way we can try to be as fresh as possible,” concludes Delcourt.