Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team fire boss Vincent Lavenu reportedly in relation to Franck Bonnamour's doping case

Big news emerging from France as according to reports by L'Equipe, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale have fired their former team boss and founder Vincent Lavenu.

The 68-year-old helped build the team back in 1992, bringing them to the World Tour and navigating his riders to a number of notable wins over the years. After selling the team ownership to insurance company AG2R La Mondiale in 2022, Lavenu lost some of his power at the team, but remained a very notable and recognisable figure at some of the biggest races on the calendar. 

According to the report by L'Equipe, Lavenu was first informed of his sacking following the most recent Tour de France, with the experienced Frenchman being told in no uncertain terms to hand in his phone, his computer and his team car, something that the 68-year-old did not react well to, with emergency services even being called to the scene as Lavenu became unwell.

Reportedly, the main reason for his dismissal is in relation to the doping investigation into former Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team rider Franck Bonnamour, who has since also seen his contract ripped up by the team. According to L'Equipe sources, Lavenu failed to tell the team's board about the ongoing situation quickly enough and as such, has been held to blame for the resultant fallout.