“Racing against Tadej Pogacar was frustrating - now I’m changing sides”: Benoit Cosnefroy hopes UAE move can place him “on the winning side” more often

After years spent trying to disrupt UAE Team Emirates - XRG plans from the outside, Benoit Cosnefroy will now be part of the machine he admits was once impossible to stop.

The French rider’s move from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team to UAE Team Emirates - XRG was one of the more unexpected transfers of the winter, arriving late in a congested and unsettled market.

Speaking to Cyclism’Actu during his new team’s Media Day in Benidorm, Cosnefroy was candid about both the circumstances of his move and the appeal of switching sides.

“For me, it’s a challenge, because first of all I am riding with the best cyclist in the world,” Cosnefroy said. “In recent years, it was difficult to counter a plan involving Tadej, it was frustrating, but now I am changing sides, so it is going to be interesting. I will be on the winning side, normally.”

Cosnefroy’s arrival at UAE came together only at the end of September, after a complicated summer of negotiations and uncertainty across the peloton.

“Everyone saw it, the market was complicated this year,” he explained. “With the shutdown of Arkea and the merger, there were quite a lot of changes that were not necessarily positive for the world of cycling. So it was a very tense market.”

The 30-year-old revealed that he had options earlier in the year, but circumstances pushed his decision back.

“I had several offers in June. I had given my word to a team, but it did not end up happening, so I came back onto the market quite late. In the second round of negotiations, it was the UAE team that made the first offer.”

Cosnefroy also spoke warmly about closing a long chapter with AG2R, a team he had been part of through multiple iterations.

“I spent some very good years with the AG2R team, then AG2R Citroen, and then AG2R Decathlon,” he said. “That is a lot of years, really intense years, with great encounters, victories and moments. I am really grateful for all of those years.”

The separation, he stressed, felt right on both sides. “I also felt that I was coming to the end of the story with the team. I think it was the right moment to separate, for both sides.”

At UAE Team Emirates - XRG, Cosnefroy’s role will be selective rather than all-consuming. There are no Grand Tours on his programme, but plenty of freedom in targeted races.

“Most of the time I will try to win as much as possible in secondary races,” he said. “I will not have a team riding for me all day, but I will be able to play my card in the final, and that is the most important thing.”

And while he will not race alongside Pogacar every week, the shift in perspective is already clear.

“When you are in the train with a plan to make sure everything goes perfectly for Tadej, it is not the same as being in the peloton and following wheels,” Cosnefroy added. “In the end, you are in a winning position, so that is cool.”