AG2R rider announces retirement... Now walks back on the decision and signs with TotalEnergies
Cycling
Things can change quickly in the world of cycling and Geoffrey Bouchard can say that quite well. Only just over a month ago, the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider had announced his retirement from pro cycling at age 33. This Monday afternoon, TotalEnergies announced him as their newest signing for the 2026 season.
Bouchard is going to be racing for a year with the French ProTeam outfit, giving continuation to his career. Bouchard is a rider with a very unusual career, having turned pro only in 2019 at age 27 and immediately succeeding in the pro ranks, winning the KOM classification of the Vuelta a España that year. A pure climber, he is also well known for his aggressive behaviour in races which often made him very popular amongst the French crowd.
In 2021 he went on to race the Giro d'Italia, winning the KOM classification there as well, further boosting his reputation as a KOM hunter. He made his debut at the Tour de France in 2022 but crashed out of the race. In 2022 he also took a stage win at the Tour of the Alps, the only one of his career in the pro ranks. However in 2023 his career began to fade slightly as a result of injuries, and in 2024 he could only begin his season in June. 2025 wasn't any better as he started out the Giro d'Italia but abandoned the race on the first day with multiple fractures after suffering another crash.
Bouchard still made a return to racing and his eighth place at the Tour de l'Ain is evidence that he is still competitive, but his season then ended with another crash at the Tour de Luxembourg where he suffered a fractured collarbone. It was in his recovery period that he announced he was stepping away from the sport, but that is now no longer the case. And with a spot at TotalEnergies, could he still aim for the KOM jersey at the Tour?
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- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin is wuite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
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Convaincu par le projet du Team TotalEnergies, Geoffrey Bouchard rejoint notre structure. Fort de son expérience, il vient renforcer le groupe. Bienvenue Geoffrey ! 🤝 #AllezTotalEnergies ⚡
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