Ex-Lotto manager Stephane Heulot to take over TotalEnergies for 2026

TotalEnergies have complicated period up ahead. The team's title sponsor is confirmed to be pulling out of the sponsorship at the end of 2026 and following the disbandment of Arkéa - B&B Hotels who were unable to find enough funds to continue, it's clear that the finishing pond for rich sponsors in France is nearly dried out. In addition, huge structural changes are on the horizon for TotalEnergies next year as the team's director of more than two decades, Jean-René Bernaudeau, will step down from his position.

According to information from Ouest-France, Bernaudeau's replacement will be none other than former Lotto CEO Stéphane Heulot, who parted ways with the Belgian team at the end of this season after three seasons in charge of the project.

The final act of Heulot's stay with Lotto was the merger with Intermarché - Wanty, a low blow from the team owners as the Frenchman spent the past months and years frantically looking for new sponsor only to find out that a deal has been closed behind his back.

"I feel I accomplished my mission," Heulot explained his departure in an interview with CyclismActu previously. "I arrived at a team that was falling apart financially, logistically and humanly. There was no real management. It was a huge rebuilding job, but after three years, I'd reached the limit of what I could do. The system had become too political."

The first reports suggested of a gradual take-over from the soon 70-year-old Bernaudeau during the season, but Ouest-France now updates that Heulot should jump in charge of the team immediately this winter.

"This is both a slight surprise and a logical choice," Ouest-France reported. "Logical because the two men share a sense of values and the same vision of authentic cycling."

Succeeding Bernaudeau, Heulot will be faced with a tricky challenge right off the bat - to find a new backer for the team beyond 2026. A position Heulot is already painfully familiar with as his entire stay with Lotto was marked by financial unstability and problems to find co-sponsors. Now with a new project, the whole circus starts anew.