Benoît Cosnefroy has accomplished a transfer to UAE Workforce Emirates, signing with the WorldTour’s high crew on a two-year deal which is able to see him bolster the one-day Classics squad on the crew till the tip of 2027.
Cosnefroy was out of contract at Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, the crew with which he turned professional in 2017 and had spent his complete profession with so far.
He’ll hyperlink up with a powerful one-day Classics unit on the Emirati crew that already options the likes of Tim Wellens, who prolonged his contract with the crew yesterday, Jhonatan Narvaez, and naturally, Tadej Pogačar, for whom Cosnefroy might supply help within the hillier Classics, within the Ardennes. Cosnefroy’s spectacular file in French one-day races might additionally supply UAE the chance to dominate in additional one-day races, ought to they want to beat their very own file of 95 season victories, in 2026.
The rider from Cherbourg accomplished simply 13 race days in 2025, following additional issues with a knee harm which noticed him sidelined for the early a part of the season.
Cosnefroy’s strengths lie in his punchy finishes, a ability which noticed him journey to seven wins in 2024, together with a Classics victory at Brabantse Pijl, earlier than his season ended prematurely following a crash at Renewi Tour by which he broke his collarbone.
The previous U23 street world champion, Cosnefroy has served as a pacesetter and talisman for the Decathlon squad which has gone from power to power prior to now two seasons. He wore the polka dot jersey for 15 phases on the 2020 version of the Tour de France and famously completed second on the 2023 version of the Amstel Gold Race, having wrongly been declared the winner. He was later declared to have completed second following a overview of the end line picture, with Ineos Grenadiers’ Michal Kwiatkowski the victor.
In the meantime Decathlon, who half methods with long-time sponsor AG2R La Mondiale on the finish of the 2025 season, are rebuilding their squad round newly acquired sprinter Olav Kooij and future GC expertise Paul Seixas.
