As we speak Specialised introduced that it will likely be sponsoring the FDJ-SUEZ workforce for 2025, coinciding with each the workforce’s twenty fifth anniversary and the signing of Dutch famous person rider Demi Vollering.
This ends the French workforce’s long-standing partnership with Lapierre, and follows the identical path because the FDJ males’s workforce (although the 2 aren’t linked in addition to sharing a title sponsor), who swapped from Lapierre to Wilier for the 2024 season.
In a brief assertion offered to the press, Scott Jackson, head of S-Racing at Specialised stated:
“FDJ-SUEZ instantly impressed us with their dynamic worldwide strategy to racing, daring imaginative and prescient for the longer term and wealthy historical past in French biking. Collectively, we sit up for elevating the way forward for ladies’s sport, driving innovation, and sharing our ardour to pedal the planet ahead.”
This isn’t the primary time {that a} bike sponsor has moved groups together with a key rider, and it isn’t uncommon for it to be both a part of the signing contract for the rider, with some instances the place the bike sponsor agrees to pay the star rider’s wages. Cyclingnews has not been occasion to the contract negotiations on this case. Specialised adopted riders like Peter Sagan his entire profession, approaching because the bike sponsor for the decrease league TotalEnergies squad whereas the Slovakian was nonetheless racing within the ultimate years of his profession.
Whereas Specialised is taking up a brand new workforce with FDJ-SUEZ, it’s persevering with to associate with SD Worx-Protime for the foreseeable future too, with a deal in place by way of to the tip of the 2028 season. Provided that SD Worx-Protime nonetheless has Lotte Kopecky, the present highway race world champion, on the books it appears unlikely that it might wish to search some sort of early termination.
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Specialised is actually an even bigger title by way of bike sponsorship for the FDJ-SUEZ workforce, however in addition to recent tools, and a brand new star rider, the workforce has additionally bolstered its roster with the likes of French highway race champion Juliette Labous in an effort to supply Vollering with the most effective assist attainable. Normal Supervisor, Stephen Delcourt stated of the partnership:
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“We’re extraordinarily proud to enter into this collaboration with Specialised, an undisputed chief within the biking world. This partnership represents an incredible alternative for our workforce to succeed in new heights by combining our strengths and experience to realize our formidable objectives.”
As per different Specialised sponsored groups – the likes of AG Insurance coverage-Soudal and SD Worx-Protime – FDJ-SUEZ is roofed by the model for the total bundle: Frames, wheels, and ending package. Within the footage we now have seen the groupset is offered by Shimano (the top-spec Dura-Ace, naturally), which will likely be a departure for Vollering who raced on SRAM parts whereas at SD Worx-Protime.
Maybe most apparently is the tyres, with the images indicating that the workforce will likely be racing on units of Continental GP5000 S TR for 2025. Within the images, these have been arrange with internal tubes, however we count on the workforce to make use of tubeless for races somewhat than photoshoots. Specialised sponsored groups, be that SD Works of the likes of Soudal-QuickStep within the males’s peloton, are likely to additionally race on Specialised tyres, utilizing the Turbo Cotton, or the S-Works Mondo within the cobbled races.
