"This year it will be different" - Will this Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider be France's next world champion?

At Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale’s 2025 team presentation in Lille last Monday, French time trial champion Bruno Armirail outlined his ambitions for the coming season. Sporting the team’s newly unveiled kit and riding their fresh Van Rysel bikes, Armirail reflected on a successful 2024 campaign while looking ahead to his personal and team objectives for 2025.

“The goal is to do better than in 2024. Win on road races, win a stage on a grand tour, or on a Critérium du Dauphiné or Paris-Nice,” Armirail said to Cyclism’Actu. "I came close at the Dauphiné, but it was 150m short. The goal will be to win, and then we'll see, help the team as much as possible as I was able to do this year, improve my time trial a little more, and that's it, try to have a very good season.”

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Armirail, who joined the team in 2024, expressed satisfaction with his decision. “It's good, especially considering the season we had, so it's nice. I knew I wouldn't regret this choice, and then it was confirmed, so it's a very good choice. The team worked well, and it always helps when there are more results.”

The team enjoyed an excellent 2024 season, with standout performances across the board. However, Armirail acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead. “We know that not all seasons can be the same. We can see this clearly with Team Visma | Lease a Bike, which had a very good 2023 season, winning three grand tours, and in the end in 2024 it’s much more complicated. So we're not immune to the fact that 2025 will be a slightly more complicated season for us, especially with the loss of Ben O'Connor. But we've recruited well, we have good riders who have performed well, so we'll see.”

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With the Tour de France set as the team’s primary goal for 2025, Armirail highlighted AG2R’s determination to perform at cycling’s biggest event. “The Tour will be the team's number one goal. Last year, we had a very big team at the Giro, a very big team at the Vuelta, and on the Tour we were a little weaker, physically, let's say. But this year it will be different. The Tour will be a big goal, and I hope to be at the start.”

When asked about his ultimate goal for 2025, Armirail didn’t hesitate. “It's hard to say, being world time trial champion, that's it! That could be good, but we'll see afterwards. French champion would already be the goal. But if I had to tick off a race that I could win, it would definitely be world champion, yes.”

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The French time trial specialist knows the challenge ahead but remains confident. “If I don't believe in it, there's no point in me going to the start, so I believe in it. At the Giro last year, I finished fifth, 8 seconds behind Remco Evenepoel, there was Geraint Thomas, some great people and I finished 8 seconds behind the win in a grand tour time trial, so it's realistic, we can do it, we have to work, improve. It's going to be difficult, for sure, but why not, we have to believe in it.”