"Our sponsor kept believing in us" - Cofidis reshapes its strategy after relegation, shifting focus to UCI points battle

Cofidis’ relegation from the WorldTour at the end of last season forced the historic French team to rethink its sporting approach. Now competing as a ProTeam for the next three year cycle, the squad is dependent on wildcards to enter the biggest races, a reality that has triggered a clear strategic shift towards consistently collecting UCI points.

Following a difficult spell, the French outfit has embraced a model increasingly common within the peloton, prioritising regular high placings and overall consistency over isolated victories. The reasoning is straightforward, securing invitations to the sport’s top events now depends heavily on a steady accumulation of points throughout the season.

After his victory in the Tour of Turkey, sprinter Stanisław Aniołkowski reflected on the impact of relegation in comments given to WielerFlits: "Losing the WorldTour license was a difficult moment for the whole team. But our sponsor kept believing in us. We had three less good years and in the end we were relegated by only around 300 points, I think. We kept fighting until the last races in China and Japan, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. That was a lesson for us."

Despite that setback, Cofidis has responded strongly in 2026, emerging as one of the most consistent teams at ProTeam level. The Polish sprinter underlined the internal transformation: "As you can see, we started this season really well, because we are now somewhere around the top-10 of the team ranking this year. We changed our mentality. We have a new plan and we are following that plan."

In practical terms, the French team currently sits among the leading squads in the 2026 UCI Team Ranking, standing out as the best-performing ProTeam and even outperforming several WorldTour organisations. That consistency is built on a carefully structured calendar and a steady flow of results across different race categories.

Victories have already come in the GP La Marseillaise, the Vuelta a Andalucia, the GP Miguel Indurain and a stage in the Itzulia Basque Country. Solid placings in races such as the Clasica de Almeria, the Figueira Champions Classic and the Tour des Alpes Maritimes have further strengthened their points tally, alongside consistent performances in stage races like Paris-Nice.

Sylvain Moniquet also made it clear, that the team’s focus lies heavily on points, even if that means missing out on the biggest stage races: "I don’t think I will ride the Tour de France. But I have a nice programme to score points, in 1.Pro and 2.Pro races. I’m really motivated for those points. Of course, I would like to go to the Tour, but I also have a good programme in this team where I sometimes get a free role."

He went even further when emphasising the importance of this approach: "Those points might even be more important than a victory. Look at the Tour of Turkey: Stan wins, but I don’t know how many points that gives, maybe 25? Turkey is not the biggest race on the calendar, but we always need to aim for a strong general classification for the points, that’s really important. Also in ProSeries races."

This philosophy also explains several strategic decisions in their race programme. Despite having automatic wildcard rights for all WorldTour races in 2026, thanks to their ranking in 2025, Cofidis has chosen to skip the Giro d'Italia in favour of a calendar packed with smaller races offering greater opportunities to score.

Experienced climber Emanuel Buchmann understands that decision, as he told: "We also have to do all the French races as a team. Last year we had to ride all the WorldTour races and I think that was a bit too much for us. It’s good that this year we only do two Grand Tours. You really feel the difference this year, because everyone has fewer race days and starts fresher. That makes a big difference. Of course, the points are important. We want to go back to the WorldTour, that’s the goal, so we are really fighting for those UCI points this year."

With a more selective calendar, fresher riders and a mindset built around consistency, Cofidis is clearly determined to fight its way back to the top tier of cycling. In this new reality, success is no longer defined solely by victories, but by the relentless accumulation of points that could secure their return to the WorldTour.