Is this the reason for the rise of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale in 2024? "If I compare the team of today with the team of five years ago, everything is different"
Cycling
Oliver Naesen has seen Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale undergo a significant transformation in recent years. The team enjoyed its best season yet in 2024, securing 30 victories, and is continuing to evolve as it builds towards future success.
As one of the team's most experienced riders, Naesen spoke to Wieler Revue about how the squad has developed beyond its French roots, embracing a more international approach.
"The discussions are now held in English. With Luke Roberts and Luke Rowe, English-speaking team leaders have been added, and so are the other newcomers to the staff. The French who did not speak English yet are given lessons. The team has hired a teacher to teach them the language. It is more or less compulsory for them. Of course, Decathlon also operates much more internationally than an AG2R. It is important for Decathlon that we also appeal to the international market."
Comparing the team’s structure now to that of five years ago, Naesen highlighted the drastic changes that have taken place.
"If I compare the team of today with the team of five years ago, everything is different. You can't compare them, but it's not like I was hitting walls then. I couldn't say what had to happen to make the team better five years ago either. More and more competent people have joined to work on the structure and to prepare everything behind the scenes to perform. I have the feeling that everything is ready, but that we only lack the sharp spearheads to really be a top team."
Despite the shift towards a more structured and international setup, Naesen acknowledged the charm of the old French team culture, even if it was more relaxed in comparison to some of the sport’s top teams.
"The familiarity of a French team is charming, but the way you spoke to the trainer or coach was looser than I see from the outside at a team like Team Visma | Lease a Bike. It was more like: do your thing. It has become stricter. Only when I trained with Greg Van Avermaet in his time at BMC, he was also as free as a bird in training."
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- Sometimes I really think that things get lost in translation. Every little detail of a riders season, preparation, and racing tactics is carefully calculated to provide optimum performance. Of course, how one feels on the bike is something that needs to be added to the overall equation as well.
santiagobenites09-03-2025 - what? The exception does not invalidate the rule: you, in the vast majority of situations, are calculated and guided in detail by your sporting director, little or no-initiative of your own. It is not offensive at all, it is simply your style.
maria2024202409-03-2025 - We are trully blessed to have two such high class acts competing with each other at this time in our sport.Cyclingsbestfan09-03-2025
- agreed you said it better than I did. it wasn’t some charitable sporting act. tadej had already basically closed the gapmij09-03-2025
- Very humble of him to apologize to Tom and Ben.
KerisVroom09-03-2025 - Good luck Bradley. I'm glad you are in a better place. The 2012 tour was fantastic for us. We were there at Bonneval to watch you getting focused for the time trial. You sealed the overall of the tour on that stage. We set out on the long drive home to Scotland later tha day in a very happy mood. Great memories!Cyclingsbestfan09-03-2025
- He attacked Pogi after he saw him crashed and then Connor Swift stopped for quit sometime. He slow when he can't take some more time and Pogi blitztering his pace like a mad man to catch Swift then drop him after and that's the time he realized he will NOT beat Pogi in all races even he crashed.
James2631809-03-2025 - He already is the GOAT. Merckx rode decades ago when the sport was far less professional and the opposition weaker. You might as well say Djokovic is approaching Rod Laver or Messi is getting near to Stanley Matthews. If a sport advances and you are at the top, you are the GOAT.Renz09-03-2025
- Excellent point about when it’s too late to respond. I was watching the ‘23 Flanders race again, and the break, the bridge, and Mads Peterson all did the right thing. Not enough, but still, the attempt was the thing. I love watching Pogacar race, but I am really hoping for more of that kind of early hard attack in the coming months.RidesHills09-03-2025
- Pure class and nice for him to wait. After Tadej shared some liquids earlier. And besides Tadej took out that gap pretty instantly. No offense to Pidcock but he sat up at the top of a climb with the bridge over was obvious. And this is meant as no offense.mij09-03-2025