Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale go green and blue with new 'Galaxy' kit

Less than three months into the new season, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale have revealed a new racing kit that their riders will wear effective immediately. The change-up comes as a result of a company-wide rebrand for French retailer, Decathlon.

Out goes the light blue and white diagonal design that had been worn by the team in their first two months as Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, and in comes a mint green and dark blue design that will certainly capture the eye.

With a sparkling look that the team refers to as its 'Galaxy kit', the new design features Decathlon's new logo and font, as well as a dashing space-themed motif that splatters the jersey and gives the kit its distinctive look.

Launching the kit at an in-person event held by Decathlon on Tuesday, the team wrote that the new design is "a perfect fusion between the AG2R La Mondiale legacy and the new era of Decathlon".

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© P.Ballet, A.Broadway / Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale

A closer look at the 'galaxy' motif

The main colour of the jersey is dark blue, but there is a nod towards the team's previous kit on the cuff of the left sleeve, which fades to light blue, with the right sleeve and back of the collar coloured mint green.

Decathlon's new logo is front and centre, naturally, and a new striped diagonal motif adorns the front right of the jersey, no doubt intended as 'racing stripes' much like Canyon-SRAM in the past.

"The new logo consists of two elements, our wordmark and our new symbol, known as the Orbit," says Decathlon. "The Orbit is an expression of our North Star, building from our past to project us towards our future.
Its movement conveys our commitment to circularity while drawing on Decathlon’s design heritage with our iconic tilted 'A'.

"Representing a mountain, a sail, a wave, or even a heartbeat, the peak at the end of the Orbit closes the movement towards new heights."

Read more: Tech throwback: Remembering the Decathlon pro bikes of the 2000s

Will the Galaxy kit stand out from the crowd?

Whilst dark blue is a popular colour amongst the WorldTour peloton, shared by the likes of Movistar, Soudal Quick-Step and Lidl-Trek, the starry patterns and mint green right sleeve will allow Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale's riders to be picked out from a crowd - as will their performances if the first few months of the season are anything to go by.

Welcoming Decathlon as a title sponsor at the start of the season and its in-house brand Van Rysel as their bike manufacturer, the historic French WorldTeam have been a revelation of the early races.

Read more: A closer look at the Van Rysel bikes Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale will ride in 2024

Regularly active with aggressive racing, the team took their first win of the season through Ben O'Connor at the Vuelta a Murcia, before Benoît Cosnefroy doubled up at the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes and O'Connor himself provided another victory at the UAE Tour.

His win on the Jebel Jais summit was a reward for a job well done by his teammates, in particular Valentin Paret-Peintre, who launched a two-up move alongside the Australian and put the rest of the peloton on notice. Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale were unable to reproduce such heroics on the final day, but O'Connor managed to remain second overall.

At the time, we spoke to sports director Sébastian Joly to find out what benefits Decathlon, Van Rysel and new technical partner Swiss Side had brought to the team over the winter.

Read more: Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale are a team transformed

"Swiss Side has a wind tunnel specifically for Formula 1 in Switzerland, and Van Rysel has a wind tunnel in Lille in northern France, which delivers everything for the collaboration and the data," the Frenchman told GCN.

"It is very new for Van Rysel, but Decathlon have been in the WorldTour before and Van Rysel is now one of the top bikes in the WorldTour, which has made all of the riders very happy."

Alongside O'Connor and Cosnefroy, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale bolstered their ranks with the signings of Sam Bennett and Victor Lafay over the off-season, two riders who will both be expected to take multiple victories this season in the new Galaxy kit.

But what do you think of the new design? Is it an improvement on the kit used by the team earlier in the year, and crucially, is it Hot or Not? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!