Lapierre ends its historic partnership with the Groupama-FDJ cycling team at the end of 2023

Lapierre announces that its commitment to the Groupama-FDJ cycling team will end on December 31, 2023, and will not be renewed for next season. This decision brings to an end the longest sponsorship contract between a World Tour cycling team and its primary technical bike partner.

Source: Press Release

After 22 years at the highest global level alongside Marc Madiot and the Groupama-FDJ cycling team, Lapierre is proud to have equipped some of the greatest cyclists of the past 25 years: Jacky Durand, Philippe Gilbert, Bradley McGee, Bradley Wiggins, Stefan Küng, Arnaud Démare, Thibaut Pinot. At the handlebars of a Lapierre bike, all these champions have contributed to writing the shared history of the French brand and the favorite team of the French.
Thanks to the performances of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team’s riders (which was initially named Fdjeux.com in 2002), Lapierre has achieved the most beautiful successes in all three Grand Tours and one-day classics, competing with the best riders in the world on the international stage. From the yellow jersey in the 2003 Tour de France to the red jerseys of the Vuelta (2020, 2022, and 2023) and the pink leader’s jerseys of the Giro (2021 and 2023), Lapierre has also won 13 stages in the Tour de France, three times the best sprinter’s jersey in the Giro (2014, 2020, and 2022), and the best climber’s jersey in the Giro this year with Thibaut Pinot. In addition to these major victories, two of the most beautiful Italian classics, Milan San Remo (2016) and the Tour of Lombardy (2018), were also won, not to mention the numerous national and international titles garnered over the past ten years.A brand that has become a benchmark in the road cycling world

Beyond the 300 victories achieved by professionals since joining the World Tour in 2002, Lapierre has, over the years, thanks to the performances of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team and through the co-development of very high-performance carbon bikes (such as the Xelius SL, the Aircode DRS, or the Aerostorm DRS time trial bike), acquired the status of a benchmark brand in the eyes of consumers in the road cycling world. Through this press release, Lapierre wishes to thank Marc Madiot and all the riders and staff of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team for these 22 years spent alongside them.

Lapierre remains involved in the World Tour

Lapierre is not abandoning professional cycling and the highest level. The Dijon-based brand continues to sponsor and support the FDJ-SUEZ female riders with its bikes, the only French team competing at the Women’s World Tour level. The team led by Stephen Delcourt once again broke its record for victories this year (18) on the professional circuit. Lapierre is proud of these results since becoming a bike partner in 2018 and aims to accompany the FDJ-SUEZ women’s team towards a Grand Tour victory in 2024.

Dorian Tabeau, Lapierre Brand Director

“A long chapter ends today with the Groupama-FDJ professional cycling team. The Lapierre brand has grown and evolved alongside the riders and technical staff throughout these years spent with them. Beyond the numerous victories, we will remember from this partnership that together we succeeded in building something unique in the World Tour universe. This collaboration has allowed us to develop exceptional bikes, meeting the demands of World Tour cycling and enabling our consumers to have high-performance and accomplished bikes.”

Marc Madiot, General Manager, Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team

“This is the end of a historic partnership of over twenty years, and we will always remember our great performances on Lapierre bikes. During these two decades, we co-developed some of the most high-performance bikes in the world, and it was a formidable adventure, full of success. We respect Lapierre’s choice to end the partnership. Like any company, Lapierre must make strategic choices. The end of this collaboration illustrates this, and we respect this decision. Lapierre is and will remain a great bike brand!”

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