OFFICIAL: Former Maryland Cycling Classic winner steps up to World Tour despite major surgery ending 2026 season
Cycling
Groupama-FDJ United have swooped in for TotalEnergies rider Sandy Dujardin, signing the French rider on a two-year deal. An experienced rider who made his big break at last year's Maryland Cycling Classic, the 29-year-old is recovering from iliac artery surgery after ending his season early.
Groupama's seventh signing of the season, Dujardin adds to their classics line-up as he brings experience from races such as Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders. His 2026 season highlights include a fourth place at the Antwerp Port Epic and five top tens across Etoile de Besseges and Vuelta a Andalucia earlier in the season.
However, the Frenchman was forced to end his season prematurely in August. It was reported that he returned to training shortly afterwards, but no confirmation on his potential return next season has been confirmed.
Dujardin follows TotalEnergies teammates Émilien Jeannière and Alexandre Delettre in joining Groupama-FDJ United for 2027 in a period of uncertainty for the ProTeam. With well-documented financial issues putting the team's future in doubt, several of the squad's top riders have left in this transfer window.
TotalEnergies
TotalEnergies lose another rider
13 riders have either left to join other teams or retired, leaving their potential roster seriously depleted. However, team management have issued positive updates regarding their plans to apply for a ProTeam licence for 2027 and it's been reported that the team will look to their development squad to fill the void in their roster.
For Groupama, the signing brings their line-up up to 29 riders ahead of the new season. However, three current riders are unconfirmed for the upcoming season, including Enzo Paleni, Remi Rochas and Paul Penhout.
The French team have endured a challenging 2026 season, taking just 12 victories - their lowest tally in 25 years. Their battle remains among the UCI points and rankings, however.
Groupama-FDJ United endure challenging 2026
With 9,343 UCI points from the first year of three in a relegation battle, they sit in 20th place and in danger of losing their WorldTour status for the next cycle.
Only one other WorldTour team, Picnic PostNL, sit below Groupama in the UCI rankings as the Dutch team battle to stay among cycling's top level in the future. They sit further adrift in 30th place.
However, there were positives for the team, with Romain Gregoire and Remi Cavagna taking both French road race and time trial national titles over the summer. Gregoire also took home a Tour de Suisse stage and their final win of the season came in a massive Vuelta a Espana victory for Bastien Tronchon.
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Ha! For “spring” read “sprint”.Lozza27-10-2026
- Well, for all the whinging about UAE’s massive budget allowing them to buy up all the talent at the expense of the other teams, just take a look at the last couple of seasons of transfers and I think you’ll find UAE aren’t the ones snapping up all the talent!Lozza27-10-2026
- It'll be like the much vaunted Glasgow Worlds legacy millions of pounds spent.. nothing to show for it. I'm sure that the UK Grand Depart will be exactly the same!slappers6627-10-2026
- Hey @acem, I'm not talking about the quality of your or mine statements... I'm talking about the quality of the riders. Capish? PS: And why is Jumping Grasshopper John speaking out? Who asked him anything? Tell him to shush, or I will !!!🤣🤣🤣PogiSloFans27-10-2026
- OK, the TdF 2027 is not built for Pogi. We've heard that at least 100X since the route came out. It's all BS!!! Here's my take on Pogi's 2027 season: Maybe not riding Paris Roubaix would be a smart move considering Pogi's crash and injuries. I think je will recover very well but nevertheless, why risk when he doesn't have to. PR really hits the body hard because of the cobbles. Maybe, just maybe, it could do some damage to his vertebra fracture or concussion, we never know. The upper-body strain, the hands, wrists, forearms, shoulders, NECK AND BACK must cope with repeated jolts. So if Pogi's priorities are the Tour, Vuelta and World Championships, and if he can win them all, the job is done. He will check off the Vuelta, become the first in history to have six TdF wins and take back the Rainbow Jersey. He can also do the Itzulia Basque Country race, to check it off (he would have the "Big Seven" one week races under his belt).... and of course he can still race some other one day races like LBL, Lombardia etc. With all these results under his belt, Pogi can concentrate on Paris Roubaix and the Olympic games in 2028... and maybe his seventh TdF, like Armstrong, but with one huge difference: Pogi would have seven official Tdf wins, Armstrong has none.PogiSloFans27-10-2026
- Tadej said it. and he also looked beleaguered after last year's tour, and came back in the world and Lombardia crushing it. and he is also the one that begged to race euros. and is racing a crit end of the month. and to the point below, it is irrelevant. his injuries do not hold a candle to the others mentioned in the headline. Roll's comment is idiotic.mij27-10-2026
- It will absolutely change his tt position. Call me out if I'm wrong, when we start seeing him training on the tt bike, you will see.awp27-10-2026
- please , come on now! The Tour begins July 2, 2027!!! It is still 2026 !!!! Get a hobby or something.dave26-10-2026
- How is this relevant? Perhaps you are doing a Coleridge but not poetic
Rafionain-Glas26-10-2026 - Brilliantly putRafionain-Glas26-10-2026
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