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"

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."