Cofidis under review: budget increase timed perfectly in year of truth for Frenchmen
CyclingFriday, 01 November 2024 at 10:51
At the end of each cycling season, IDLProCycling.com reviews the WorldTour team by team to give them a rating. Now it's time for France's Cofidis, which has been part of the peloton for nearly thirty years.
Spoiler: 2024 was not great for Cedric Vasseur's formation.
One-day races 2024: Cofidis
Cofidis managed to win one one-day race in 2024: Axel Zingle was the best in the Boucles de l'Aulne in May. After all, he was the man it was all about in the one-day races. Zingle started the season well but failed to perform during the big classics. He made up for this at the end of April and the beginning of May with a series of top finishes and, thus, one win.
"We felt Axel was losing momentum at the beginning of the year; he seemed lost," said team boss Vasseur after the season, referring to the rider who left for Visma | Lease a Bike. "We even had to adjust his program and remove him from our schedule for the Flemish classics. He had to defend the colors of Cofidis there, but it didn't work," said the Frenchman harshly, whose team couldn't defend its colors anyway.
Cofidis failed in the big classics in the spring, but in October, Ion Izagirre saved the day with a great fourth place in the Tour of Lombardy. The Basque also finished fifth in the GP Montréal a little earlier, providing essential points for his team.
Read more below the photo.
(Grand) tours 2024: Cofidis
Of course, the Tour de France is the biggest race of the year for Cofidis. In 2023, the team won two stages and finished in the top ten, but they did not perform well this season. Guillaume Martin's thirteenth place earned him a few points, but the management probably hoped for more.
They were more successful in the Giro d'Italia, with a nice stage win by Benjamin Thomas. Remarkably, this was the first (!) season's victory for Vasseur's team in mid-May. Simon Geschke finished 14th in the GC of the Italian grand tour, whereas Martin finished 15th in the equally anonymous Vuelta a España later in the season.
In terms of one-week stage races, Cofidis has also had better years. Ion Izagirre finished ninth in the Tour of the Basque Country, and Bryan Coquard recorded a long-awaited WorldTour victory in Switzerland, but it was no more than that at WorldTour level. One level down, there were only some results in French stage races.
Read more below the photo.
Final figure 2024 Cofidis
Last season, Cofidis scored 7.4. This year, the (former) editorial team of IDLProCycling.com is much less optimistic. With no victories until mid-May, only five wins in total, and a fairly anonymous season, we rate Cofidis' 2024 cycling year with a 4.1.
Transfers 2024/2025: Cofidis
Cofidis has vigorously shaken up the transfer market this winter, but it was necessary, too. The insurance company is once again committed to a higher budget for 2025, in which the WorldTour license must be secured. To do so, they had to spend a lot of money, especially since the best-scoring riders of 2024 are leaving the team.
Zingle, as is well known, is leaving for Visma | Lease a Bike, which Vasseur was not particularly pleased with. 'At Cofidis, he was guaranteed to be a leader. I'm not sure this will be the case at Visma. But yes, it's a career choice. Maybe in a year or two, Axel will be able to say that he made the right choice, or maybe not: that he should have stayed leader instead of fetching water bottles for Wout van Aert,' it sounded. In addition, Martin is leaving the team for a contract with Groupama-FDJ.
On the other hand, the team did acquire suitable replacements. Alex Aranburu, a man who is good for the necessary results every year, was brought in, while Dylan Teuns is a rider who can score in the biggest spring races. Martin, in turn, was replaced by potential grand tour leaders such as Emanuel Buchmann, Simon Carr, and Sylvain Moniquet.
It is not yet officially known which team Ben Hermans, Kenny Elissonde, Ruben Férnandez, Alexis Gougeard, Christophe Noppe, Axel Mariault, and Harrison Wood will race for in 2025.
New arrivals: Alex Aranburu, Sergio Samitier (Movistar), Emanuel Buchmann (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Dylan Teuns (Israel-Premier Tech), Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto-Dstny), Simon Carr (EF Education-EasyPost), Damien Touzé (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Valentin Ferron (TotalEnergies), Sam Maisonobe (Vendée U) and Clement Izquierdo (AVC Aix-en-Provence)
Leaving (provisional): Gorka Izagirre, Simon Geschke (quit), Guillaume Martin (Groupama-FDJ), Axel Zingle (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Thomas Champion (St Michel - Auber 93)
Ones to watch 2025: Cofidis
Cofidis has room for improvement, but it has also managed to put together an excellent selection for 2025. Cofidis is currently eighteenth in the ranking for a WorldTour license for 2026 through 2028, which is barely good enough. So, the objective for 2025 seems clear: retention and points are needed.
In that regard, Aranburu and Teuns can deliver an essential boost in the classics and smaller tours with their punch qualities. As for the big round work, Cofidis will hopefully be able to get the most out of Buchmann and Carr because then you are talking about two riders who can achieve the necessary. Carr is unbeatable on some days but just as often vulnerable. Buchmann once again reached his best level before the Giro, but to the dismay of many Germans, he ended up being pushed aside for that.
Furthermore, Cofidis will be hoping Bryan Coquard and Benjamin Thomas can contribute, while sprinters Milan Fretin and Stanislaw Aniolkowski may be able to make another move. Fretin already managed two of five wins this year and still has a margin for progression at 23 years of age.
Read more below the photo.
(Provisional) selection Cofidis 2025
- Pete Allegaert
- Stanislaw Aniolkowski
- Alex Aranburu
- Emanuel Buchmann
- Simon Carr
- Bryan Coquard
- Aimé De Gendt
- Nicolas Debeaumarché
- Valentin Ferron
- Eddy Finé
- Milan Fretin
- Jésus Herrada
- Ion Izagirre
- Clément Izquierdo
- Oliver Knight
- Jonathan Lastra
- Nolann Mahoudo
- Sam Maisonobe
- Sylvain Moniquet
- Stefano Oldani
- Anthony Perez
- Alexis Renard
- Ludovic Robeet
- Sergio Samitier
- Dylan Teuns
- Benjamin Thomas
- Hugo Toumire
- Damien Touzé
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Latest Comments
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024