Decathlon, the other sponsor of the team, will continue and is looking for a new co-sponsor for the formation currently known as Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale.
The French insurance company AG2R entered cycling in January 1997 as a co-sponsor of the then Casino team, which at the time was named Casino-AG2R Prévoyance. In 2000, Casino disappeared as a co-sponsor and the name became AG2R Prévoyance.
The AG2R team never won a grand tour, but Romain Bardet (second in 2016 and third in 2017) and Jean-Christophe Péraud (second in 2014) did reach the Tour de France podium.
Despite the departure of AG2R, the formation will likely continue. “Discussions with a new financier are at an advanced stage. The name of the new sponsor may be announced before the end of this Tour,” reports Decathlon.
There are even ambitious plans to increase the budget from 28 million to 40 million euros. “The first goal is to remain in the top five of international cycling. Preferably, we would like to climb to a place in the top three,” says team boss Dominique Serieys. “Ultimately, we want to win the Tour de France in 2030.”
The long sponsorship is special in cycling, but far from unique. Lotto has been the sponsor and namesake of the Belgian cycling team since 1985, currently only called Lotto. In 2023 and 2024, it was Lotto Dstny, and in the years before that, there were also various co-sponsors.
The Dutch sponsorship record is held by Rabobank, which was the namesake of the team from 1996 to 2012 with riders such as Michael Boogerd, Erik Dekker, and Michael Rasmussen.