Decathlon CMA CGM women's team takes shape as riders make cyclo-cross debut

Riders set for the Decathlon CMA CGM women's team made their debuts in team colours this weekend, with the Decathlon jersey on show at cyclo-cross races in Great Britain and Switzerland.

The full line-up for the women's road team has not yet been officially announced, but Zoe Roche and Laly Pichon both raced for the Decathlon CMA CGM cyclo-cross squad this weekend, and are set to ride for the ProTeam on the road next season.

Decathlon's cyclo-cross team is a mixed set-up, featuring four riders from the men's WorldTour and development teams, plus two incoming women's riders.

Great Britain's Roche, 18, took a win for her new team at the National Trophy opening round in Derby, whilst Pichon, also 18, finished 10th at a C2 race in Switzerland, donning Decathlon jerseys and riding Van Rysel CX bikes.

Roche has been riding for CAMS Majaco this season, and represented Great Britain at the Road World Championships in Canada last month, whilst Pichon rides for Team Breizh Ladies and had already been spotted wearing a Decathlon helmet on the road this summer.

Decathlon CMA CGM laid out their intentions to start a women's team at some point when the big new sponsor Decathlon came on board, and the project was officially launched just before the Tour de France Femmes earlier this summer. They confirmed they would race as a ProTeam with Guillaume Bonnafond at the helm.

Announcing the team in July, a press release stated that the roster would comprise 12 riders, and whilst no signings have officially been announced, the team has taken shape with riders already wearing the jersey and a wide variety of riders headed for the team.

Alongside Roche and Pichon, Cyclingnews can report that Australian junior track world champion Anna Dubier has signed for the team after racing on the road in Belgium this year.

Transfer journalist Daniel Benson has reported a list of 11 names headed to the team. His list includes Samara Maxwell and Greta Seiwald, who both ride for the Decathlon Ford Racing mountain bike team, plus three riders already racing in the pro peloton: Laura Molenaar (VolkerWessels), Océane Mahé (Ma Petite Entreprise) and Laura Lizette Sander (Hitec Products-Fluid Control).

The majority of the rest of the riders linked to the team are juniors or young riders, with the squad very much building for the future rather than launching as a fully formed road outfit. With the new rules about transferring points, bringing on mountain bike and cyclo-cross riders could also be beneficial to the team's rankings.

Long-term, the team's goal is to join the WorldTour and race the Tour de France Femmes, but they are starting with a development model in an attempt to build a sustainable project.

"Building on the NewGen model, we aim to bridge the gap between the youth categories and the WorldTour, the world’s highest level of competition," Bonnafond said in the team launch press release.

"Our philosophy is rooted in development and talent identification: we want to offer young talents from road racing, cyclocross, and mountain biking an environment conducive to their growth. The goal is to build a sustainable team that will join the WorldTour circuit in the coming years.”

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