From most combative Tour rider in 2021 to end of career due to doping battle: "Too expensive"

Franck Bonnamour has ended his professional cycling career. The 29-year-old Frenchman had not raced since January after irregularities were found in his biological passport. In an interview with Ouest France, Bonnamour now says he is ending his fight against the anti-doping organizations.

How quickly can a career be over? Bonnamour is a prime example of that. In 2021, the climber broke through on the biggest stage, taking home the combativity award after an impressive Tour de France. A year later came his first and ultimately only victory: a win at La Polynormande.

During his peak, Bonnamour rode for B&B Hotels-KTM, but that team disbanded in 2023, after being in severe financial disarray. Naturally, the Frenchman became a highly sought-after transfer target. The current Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale won the battle for his signature. In his first year in the WorldTour, he couldn’t immediately achieve significant results, so the focus shifted to 2024.

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Bonnamour thinks continuing to defend himself is "too expensive"

Things came to a sudden halt after the Australian campaign. The UCI reported irregularities in Bonnamour's biological passport. His team immediately suspended him pending further clarification. Two months later, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale even terminated the contract, which was originally set to last until the end of the year. "The team was forced to terminate Franck Bonnamour's employment contract early. The team advocates for cycling in accordance with strict ethical guidelines," they stated.

Bonnamour found himself without a team and uncertain about whether, and if so, for how long he would be suspended by the UCI. He ultimately accepted the provisional suspension without much protest, despite emphasizing in March through his official channels that he had never used doping. To avoid losing everything in life, Bonnamour is now pulling the plug. "Too expensive" to continue defending himself, and "bitter" over the fact that he is no longer a professional cyclist without ever having tested positive for doping.

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