“We built the team around Demi Vollering to win the 2025 Tour — We failed”: FDJ - Suez out for revenge on Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in 2026

FDJ - Suez have made no secret of their ambition — winning the Tour de France Femmes remains the ultimate goal. But after being thwarted by an untouchable Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in 2025, Stephen Delcourt’s team are determined to return stronger than ever next summer.

Speaking to DirectVelo at the official presentation of the 2026 Tour in Paris, the French team boss struck a defiant tone: “We built the team around Demi Vollering to win the 2025 Tour de France. We failed, but we were beaten by someone stronger. Pauline was above everyone else — even with a time trial, she would have won. Now we have to close the gap, raise our level, and aim for victory in 2026.”

Delcourt described the new route as “superb, tricky, and complete”, noting that the race would demand “a lot of work and reconnaissance”. FDJ - Suez, he said, were already preparing to leave nothing to chance.

“The Tour is the race,” he reflected. “We had an excellent season — second overall, winners of the team classification, the polka-dot jersey — and we gave everything. If we’d lost because of a tactical mistake, that would be frustrating. But Pauline was unbeatable. Now it’s about closing the gap physically, tactically and in preparation.”

Despite finishing second at the Tour, Vollering still ended the year as the world’s top-ranked rider — the first time in history a French team, men’s or women’s, has held that distinction. “It’s exceptional,” Delcourt admitted. “But it’s true, we’d trade that world number one ranking for the yellow jersey. The yellow jersey is the Holy Grail — even more than the rainbow one.”

While Vollering will remain at the heart of the project, Delcourt confirmed that FDJ - Suez will approach next season differently. “We’ll have more individualised calendars, varied tactical choices and new training methods,” he said. “We reduced the roster from 18 to 16 riders to race a little less but with greater collective strength.”

The team will trim its schedule by around 5–10%, ensuring freshness for key objectives. “The season now runs from mid-November to late October — there’s little time for personal life,” Delcourt explained. “We want more freshness to perform at the big events.”

The Tour de France remains central, but not the only focus. Delcourt has identified ten major races FDJ - Suez aim to conquer by 2028 — from Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix to all three Grand Tours and the Ardennes Classics.

“This year we’ve already ticked off two: Strade Bianche and the Vuelta,” he noted. “We finished second at La Flèche, third at Liège, second at the Tour. We want to win every race that writes the history of this team.”

Two decades after its foundation, FDJ - Suez find themselves closer than ever to cycling’s biggest prizes — and, if Delcourt’s determination is any measure, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot can expect fierce competition when the peloton rolls out again next summer.