Lapierre and Groupama-FDJ split after 22 years of collaboration

Bike brand Lapierre and WorldTour team Groupama-FDJ will end their collaboration at the end of the year, bringing down the curtain on one of the longest partnerships in men’s cycling that dates back 22 years.

The news was first reported by Velo101, with the French publication  also confirming that Lapierre will continue to support the women’s team, FDJ-Suez, in 2024.

The decision to part ways with the men’s team came from Lapierre but Groupama-FDJ team boss Marc Madiot was nothing but complimentary. Together, Madiot’s teams and Lapierre have won over 300 races and supplied some of the best riders in the world including Thibaut Pinot, Bradley Wiggins and Philippe Gilbert.

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“This is the end of a historic partnership of more than twenty years and we will always remember our great performances on Lapierre bikes,” Madiot said.

“During these two decades we co-developed some of the most efficient bikes in the world and it was a wonderful adventure, full of success. We respect Lapierre's choice to end the partnership. Like every company, Lapierre must make strategic choices. The end of this collaboration is an illustration of this and we are respectful of this decision. Lapierre is and will remain a great bicycle brand!”

Dorian Tabeau, the Lapierre Brand Director, echoed Madiot’s words.

“It’s a long chapter which ends today with the Groupama-FDJ professional cycling team. The Lapierre brand has grown and evolved alongside the riders and the technical staff during all these years spent alongside 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 will have allowed us to develop exceptional bikes, meeting the requirements of World Tour cycling and allowing our consumers to have high-performance and successful bikes.”

Madiot’s FDJ team was created in 1997 and first used Gitane bikes. It’s not clear who will supply bikes to the men’s team in 2024.