Arkéa Samsic are having big changes towards 2023, with a promotion to World Tour level imminent, the departure of their main leader Nairo Quintana, but also of team DS Yvon Ledanois.
In an interview with Ouest France, Ledanois said: “Since the Vuelta a España, I have not spoken to Quintana. I’m leaving Arkéa-Samsic with my head held high, it’s not related to Quintana.” Rumours had been said that the departure would be related to the Colombian, but Ledanois has repeatedly said that is not the case.
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“This has nothing to do with him. And you know, I was not Quintana’s friend. I was sports director of Arkéa-Samsic, not of Quintana. He’s done races where I wasn’t sporting director, I’ve done plenty of them without him," he continued.
“Since he left the Vuelta, I haven’t had a phone call from him and I didn’t try to get it. I work on affection, but today I have more affection with a Laurent Pichon than for a Nairo Quintana. I didn’t make him come to the team, I didn’t make him leave, and he’s not the one making me leave," he stated.
The declarations have left it clear that Ledanois is leaving the team through different reasons. Quintana had struck another three-year deal with Arkéa, but following a double-positive case for tramadol at the Tour de France - which nullified his results at the race - the two have split ways, and the Colombian did not race with the French team ever since, focusing on his defense in the meantime.
“I don’t want to work with him and I do not know where he will go," the former DS of the French team added. Of course I’m disappointed, but the first person he would be hurt was Emmanuel Hubert, then the team, his teammates, and then the staff. He had the confidence of everyone."
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“If it turns out that he was at fault, it’s a shame. Also, an investigation is underway, and I am careful not to comment. As a human, I would have liked to have a phone call from him, which I never got. But hey, I never expect anything from a rider," he added.
With his goal accomplished, Ledanois explained his path through Arkéa. “I like challenges, I like the pressure of the goal. Five years ago, few people thought Arkéa could go to the WorldTour. I remember, when I arrived, I said that the days of attacking at kilometer zero were over. Some were surprised, it was not easy to explain how I worked. Sometimes I am tough, very tough, but today I think I brought something to this team. In the end, five years later, the results prove me right," he argued.
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Although he's stepped away from his role, he will not step away from cycling, and is looking for a management role within another team, and a new challenge. “I have enough experience. I have led high-level riders, I think I have the ability to win the Tour. I have proposals that I like, I’m not afraid of tomorrow, and I like to take risks in life," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- I think that they're not really used to dealing with this type of incident in a cyclocross race, and the situation has been magnified because it was a race for a championship title. It's very unfortunate that the race had to be decided in this way.
santiagobenites07-11-2026 - Seriously why do they keep doing stupid things like this. Its one thing to relegate when the placings are minor, when the action is blatant. But when it is ambiguous, why dont they at least take advice from some higher up to avoid embarrassing themselves. This is similar to the Halland goal when his teammate was clearly offside and interfered in play and VAR gave them the goal. if you dont have evidence you cannot convict. Even for doping they have these rulesabstractengineer07-11-2026
- So all those who went to watch, including all from abroad, waled there, spent nothing? Most places hosting events of the sort manage to make it worthwhile. If it was so obviously fruitless, don’t you think by now they’d have run out of hosting candidates? Why do you think the Tour can command such high prices for departure and arrival locations? If it didn’t bring anything locally they’d have to pay to get authorisation to use cities.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- What a travesty ! That little deviation did nothing to impede Brand !frieders307-11-2026
- I also wanne beat Pogacar in the tour but it aint gonne happen. Jonas unfortunately getting dropped by del toro and seixas several times this TDF and jonas team is very weak and joinas on way down, it aint happening thats clear. its also clear it only happened cause Pogacar was hurt and had a broken wrist that time everytime both full strenght its not close we just have to be honest about it :/miguel07-11-2026
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- Looking at that photo she appears to be several feet from her. I’m not sure how that impeded brands sprint.mij07-11-2026
- Lucky to not get disqualified
leedorney07-11-2026
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