More positive hints from TotalEnergies camp; riders have been told the team would exist in 2027 under a new name
CyclingMonday, 17 August 2026 at 09:00
Team TotalEnergies is approaching a breaking point of its two-decade existence. The French team will part ways with its title sponsor at the end of the year as TotalEnergies moves over to support Netcompany INEOS. A replacement for such strong partner is easy to come by, but team manager Jean-René Bernaudeau remains confident in his statements that the project will live on.
His words are now echoed by Velo-Club.net. According to the French outlet, several riders have been told that the French ProTeam would still exist in 2027, but under a different name.
Details remain a top-secret. At least until there is an official communication from the team. The only piece of information that has slipped out is that Chinese bike manufacturer Pardus could replace the current equipment supplier CUBE for 2027.
At the moment, TotalEnergies continue to operate as usual. However in this key period where lineups for next season are being completed behind the scenes, the French team holds a rather weak position in negotiations. And some of the team's key riders; Emilien Jeanniere, Alexandre Delettre (both Groupama - FDJ United), Jordan Jegat (Lidl-Trek), Anthony Turgis (Netcompany INEOS) are expected to move on.
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"We have many potential sponsors," Bernaudeau said during the recent Tour de France. "Three important ones have dropped out, and we have ten in total. I must admit that the best are unfortunately no longer available."
"I need ten million euros, because then we will have what is needed to cover the rest of the budget. We have agreements with smaller sponsors, but also with the Vendée department, a loyal supporter. The budget would be considerably lower than that of most French teams, but we can manage with it," said the team boss.
Quite in the contrary with apparent struggles was the rumour of the French team setting up a brand new women's team in 2027. If those whispers were to turn out on spot, it is quite possible that a new sponsor with more international brand would back Bernaudeau's project in years to come.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- What you've described is certainly possible. But if Pog didn't exist then various aspects may have been different, leading to other outcomes. Roglic would have won the Tour in 2020, and may have remained undisputed leader of Jumbo-Visma in 2021 and 2022. Visma would not have (still) been out for revenge in 2022, so may have instructed Jonas to keep supporting Roglic instead of going for the win himself. (and not have focused so much on developong Jonas). 2024 would not have been Jonas's hattrick year at the Tour, so after his Itzulia crash (if indeed he rode Itzulia) he might have skipped that Tour. But Jonas may have had to change teams to get out from Roglic's shadow. And so on, you see what I mean :) (Not to be taken too seriously)Hills3317-08-2026
- now it gets stupid. why on earth should everyone be proud of their country or even love it? i am german ...Ketterechts17-08-2026
- Van der Poel has to be higher than Vingegaard there I’d say. Vingegaard counts as of now as obviously a superb grand tour rider but certainly not a stand out all time great - and doesn’t even meaningfully compete in for example Liege - while VdP does stand out as an all-time great Classics rider. You can’t just stack everything too much towards the Grand Tour riders.AndrewK17-08-2026
- I think you will find THAT is not the reason because you find the same happens in all sorts of sports and other walks of life where there are no dangers. Celebrities, actors, musicians, athletes, etc. Most people (for many different reasons) don’t search very far outside their environment (job, village, nationality, race, social class, etc.) And yes, I’m saying it’s dangerous, I’m NOT saying you can make it safe but you can eliminate unnecessary risk without disproportionate costs. You don’t go climbing with a used rope or diving without backup, you don’t work on motorways without deviating traffic, you don’t touch electrical cables without switching off a fuse. The problem with incidents is that they usually occur because we’ve placed our trust in others assuming they’ve checked safety for us only to discover they cut corners and didn’t warn anyone. Read up on the Irish teen who died by electrocution in a shower in Greece and you’ll know what that means. No rider can go check safety during a race, if they could though, do you really think they’d accept racing down a dangerous swerving road knowing there was no-one ahead to block a car from entering at any time? As amateurs you often have to race on open roads where you’re told specifically to take care that sections are open to traffic, you NEVER see anyone cutting all the way to the inside of a blind corner at full speed in those situations, why? Because when you csn choose your own level of risk, you inherently decide better than what having faith alone can offer.Mistermaumau17-08-2026
- Equal but not the same, try thinking past the first degree, you have thousands of years of knowledge, education and progress within access to reach enlightenment.Mistermaumau17-08-2026
- Sorry to break it to you but this is hardly surprising as it’s pretty common. Most men would stay lazy assed f’s, lisers or dead if someone wasn’t behind them pushing them to be useful. Have a good look around you. Don’t forget your mother in your thoughts, or maybe you regret how you turned out, probably mostly thanks to her?Mistermaumau17-08-2026
- Don’t ask people to change their povs ;-)Mistermaumau17-08-2026
- And those 19 were probably spent plotting;-)Mistermaumau17-08-2026
- @mistermaumau if your point is that cycling is dangerous and no-one should want their loved ones to be in danger, well that is a completely irrelevant point because most of the peloton has long since accepted that. It's part of the reason why so many of the pros have spouses who are cyclists. Tadej Pogačar, Isaac del Toro, Giulio Pellizzari are three that popped into my head instantly
Rafionain-Glas17-08-2026 - Totally, You can go even further and criticise some of the biggest riders (some others can say they have little choice) but when you’re a superstar and can basically pick and choose who to ride for and under what conditions, what does it say about you (or the set-up) that you voluntarily continue to work for dubious people getting paid by immoral money? If your favourite riders accepts the past doping legacy then who are you to demand others should get ignored? Be a man and take things into your own hands, stop being a hypocrite, ignore them yourself, don’t comment or draw attention because the more you do the more you encourage their continued relevance.Mistermaumau17-08-2026
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