'Optimize everything that is part of performance' – Cofidis shake-up roster, staff to fight for 2026 WorldTour place

MONTREAL QUEBEC SEPTEMBER 15 Anthony Perez of France and Team Cofidis prior to the 13th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal 2024 a 2091km one day race from Montreal to Montreal UCIWT on September 15 2024 in Montreal Quebec Photo by Alex BroadwayGetty Images
Cofidis riders at the 2024 GP Montréal (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Cofidis team have shaken up their roster for 2025 and created a new 'performance cell' as they fight to stay in the men's WorldTour.

The French team has slipped to 18th in the three-year team ranking and so risks falling out of the WorldTour in 2026-2028 if Arkéa-B&B Hotels, Uno-X Mobility and XDS Astana score more points in 2025.

New signings include Emanuel Buchmann, Alex Aranburu, Simon Carr, and Dylan Teuns. Bryan Coquard, Jesús Herrada, Benjamin Thomas and Ion Izagirre remain as protected riders.

Italian coach Mattia Michelusi leads the new 'performance cell' of seven new staff. Michelusi worked with Dimension Data and NTT Pro Cycling in the past and has brought in coaches Luca Quinti, Luca Festa, Matthieu Desfontainem, and Bart Nonneman.

"We want to optimize everything that is part of performance," Michelusi explained.

"The idea is to find the right alloy between all the aspects related to performance. We want to gather the pieces of the puzzle, assemble them and put them in the right place."

"We are keen to work with people who come from other countries and who have a different sports culture," Michelusi said. "It is important to learn from the best to help the group progress."

In this same approach, the team can count on Niklas Quetri, 'bike fitter', who will be responsible for improving aerodynamics and Briton Scott Gilham, who comes on board as nutritionist.

"In every environment I have worked in, I have tried to learn as much as possible about athletes, their needs and how to improve their nutrition and performance," he said.

Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.