Stefan Bissegger headlines group of new signings for Decathlon AG2R - "The team has put a lot of work into the time trial and the results are there"

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale has saved up a lot of deals behind the scenes and have decided to let them all out this Wednesday morning. We have already talked about the surprising signing of Johannes Staune-Mitter from Visma; but the team has equally surprised with the signing of Swiss time-trialists Stefan Bissegger. Two more riders have been signed whilst four renew with the team.

The team has not been able to keep Ben O'Connor and Valentin Paret-Peintre into next season which harms their chances to perform in the Grand Tours, but with the budget that has been made available, the team has put it to good use. First and foremost the team have secured Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Pierre Gautherat, Nicolas Prodhomme and Stan Dewulf. Four signings were revealed only minutes before.

Stefan Bissegger is the headliner of these, bringing a time-trialist into the team but also a strong rouleur - and possible road captain during Grand Tours. "I am really looking forward to this new opportunity and to working with these great partners to ensure that the coming seasons are a success," he's said. "The team has put a lot of work into the time trial and the results are there. I am looking forward to joining them."

Team Jayco AlUla's Callum Scotson has also made the move to the French team: "I am really looking forward to the next two years with DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE. The team has performed very well recently and I am motivated to contribute to its success. I have been part of the same team for my entire professional career and I feel ready to change environment and take on new challenges."

Another surprise move is Thor Gudmestad from Uno-X Mobility: "I’m really looking forward to joining the team, and starting to work with this new group! I’m very excited about this opportunity and I hope we can achieve great things together. This is a very successful team, so I hope we can continue this momentum together!"

Dominique Serieys, from the team management, has commented the following: "This is a strategy that we have studied with a vision for the coming years and we wanted to focus on renewing the riders already present within the team. I am thinking of Stan Dewulf, Pierre Gautherat, Aurélien Paret-Peintre and Nicolas Prodhomme who are now part of the team's executives and who bring stability to the collective," he points out.

"In a desire to strengthen dedicated to the specific needs that we have on the Grand Tours and the classics, we have focused the recruitment on four riders who meet these needs. Two young Norwegians, Tord Gudmestad and Johannes Staune-Mittet respectively recruited for the mass sprints and the general classifications. But also more experienced riders with Callum Scotson and the time trial specialist Stefan Bissegger."