"I'm coming back to become Olympic champion": Bryan Coquard sets sight on a track comeback in Los Angeles

Fourteen years after his Olympic silver on the London 2012 velodrome, Bryan Coquard has decided to return to the track with a bold, unambiguous goal: win gold at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

The Frenchman, who shocked many by taking silver in the omnium at just 20 before switching his focus fully to road racing, will now focus his comeback on the Madison. There he will pair up with Cofidis teammate Benjamin Thomas, the reigning Olympic omnium champion from Paris 2024.

"If I’m coming back, it’s to be Olympic champion," Coquard said at a Paris press conference reported by L’Équipe. "This could be a chance to close the circle, since I was discovered on the London track. Since then I’ve always said I dreamed of being Olympic champion, but I never went back. I didn’t have the energy."

The sprinter had already re-appeared at the French Track Championships at the start of 2025, an experience that sealed his decision. "At last winter’s French Championships, I felt like a kid again, overflowing with joy to be on the velodrome. It was a long period of reflection, but my wife encouraged me to try again."

His return to the track will not mean leaving the road. Coquard will juggle both calendars and downplayed the fact his contract with Cofidis ends in 2027.

"That doesn’t worry me at all," he said. In May he will race in Lyon and Hyères to collect points for the World Championships in Shanghai in October, and alongside Thomas he will also ride the Gent Six-day next winter.

At 33, the Frenchman sees a clear avenue for improvement: "My biggest area for progress is tactics and race vision. We’ll need to compete at a high level, in tough conditions, to sharpen our reflexes and positioning."

Meanwhile, his road season has started in the best possible way, with wins at the GP La Marseillaise and the GP Visit South Aegean Islands. Now, Coquard wants that momentum to carry him back onto the Olympic podium, this time to the top step.