# Cofidis (cycling team)

Cofidis (UCI team code: COF) is a French professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by a money-lending company, Cofidis. It was started in 1996 by Cyrille Guimard, the former manager of Bernard Hinault, Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon of the Renault–Elf–Gitane team of the 1980s. The team's sponsor has supported the team despite repeated problems such as doping scandals. After it was part of the UCI ProTour for the ProTour's first five seasons, from 2010 the team competed as a UCI Professional Continental team. The team joined the UCI World Tour for the 2020 season.

## History

Cyrille Guimard started the team in 1996 with backing from François Migraine, the chief executive of Cofidis. An early acquisition was Lance Armstrong, formerly of Motorola Cycling Team. Armstrong was dropped because of his cancer and another American, Bobby Julich, became leader for stage races. Julich's place in the top three of the 1998 Tour de France brought the team to the spotlight, and Frank Vandenbroucke brought further results in classics. That year, Cofidis won the team classification in the Tour.
Years of drought followed as Julich and Vandenbroucke left the team. Vandenbroucke's Belgian compatriots, Nico Mattan, Chris Peers, Peter Farazijn, and Jo Planckaert, stayed on but were criticised for inconsistent performances. Cofidis, on the demand of Migraine, began paying riders by results, judged by the points they won in a season-long competition run by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Belgian riders criticised the policy, saying it would lead riders to ride conservatively to be sure of good placings at the finish. They debated the issue publicly with the manager, Alain Bondue, and left.
David Millar raised the team's profile by winning the prologue of the 2000 Tour de France, taking leadership of the team. Millar criticized the points system and the team relented.
In 2004 Cofidis had three world champions – Igor Astarloa on the road, David Millar in the individual time trial and Laurent Gané on the track. However, a doping scandal involving Millar and other riders led them to stop racing until it was resolved. Astarloa left the team. The investigation decided that doping was by individual riders and that the team was not involved. David Millar has since suggested otherwise, in a strongly worded interview with the BBC. In May 2004 the team announced that Bondue and team doctor Jean-Jacques Menuet had both resigned. The team then returned to competition for the 2004 Tour de France, in which Stuart O'Grady and David Moncoutié won stages, Moncoutié's on Bastille Day.
Following the doping scandals, the team appointed Éric Boyer as team manager in 2005. Moncoutié won on Bastille day again in the 2005 Tour de France – the only French stage win – with O'Grady's help. A new signing, Sylvain Chavanel failed to win a stage or to make a strong impression.
O'Grady and Matthew White left in 2006. Cédric Vasseur – often the road captain – also left. An early victory in Classic Haribo by Arnaud Coyot showed the team still had firepower. Cofidis won the first stage of the 2006 Tour de France with Jimmy Casper, in a chaotic sprint.
For 2007 the team signed Belgians Nick Nuyens and Kevin De Weert from Quick-Step–Innergetic.
On 25 July 2007 Cofidis rider Cristian Moreni failed his doping test after the 11th stage of the Tour de France. His blood contained traces of testosterone. Moreni acknowledged doping. The team withdrew from the Tour.
In 2008 the team enjoyed the most successful season of Boyer's time as manager, with Chavanel winning Dwars door Vlaanderen and Brabantse Pijl and Chavanel and Samuel Dumoulin both taking stage wins in that year's Tour de France.
On 29 September 2009, the UCI ProTour decided not to renew the ProTour licenses of Cofidis and Bbox Bouygues Telecom, due to poor results.
In 2012, the team received a wildcard invitation to the Tour de France, along with three other French-registered teams. A few days before the start of the race, Boyer was sacked as manager of the team, with Migraine blaming him for poor results: he was replaced by former Festina, Astana and FDJ–BigMat directeur sportif Yvon Sanquer.
On 10 July 2012, the first rest day in the 2012 Tour de France, French police raided the Cofidis team hotel, arresting French rider Rémy Di Gregorio on suspicion of doping.
For the 2015 season the team announced it had signed 2014 Giro d'Italia points classification winner, Nacer Bouhanni, along with Dominique Rollin, Geoffrey Soupe and Steve Chainel.
After a 2017 season during which the team only took 13 wins, in October of that year the team announced that Sanquer had been sacked, and that he would be replaced as manager by former Cofidis rider Vasseur.
The team returned to UCI WorldTour status in the 2020 season, and the team will using De Rosa bikes beginning from the 2020 season, ending their contract with Kuota.
Starting with the 2023 season the team will be riding Look bicycles.

## Team roster

    As of 8 January 2025.
| | Rider | Date of birth |
| Piet Allegaert (BEL) | Piet Allegaert (BEL) | (1995-01-20) 20 January 1995 (age 30) |
| Stanisław Aniołkowski (POL) | Stanisław Aniołkowski (POL) | (1997-01-20) 20 January 1997 (age 28) |
| Alex Aranburu (ESP) | Alex Aranburu (ESP) | (1995-09-19) 19 September 1995 (age 29) |
| Emanuel Buchmann (GER) | Emanuel Buchmann (GER) | (1992-11-18) 18 November 1992 (age 32) |
| Simon Carr (GBR) | Simon Carr (GBR) | (1998-08-29) 29 August 1998 (age 26) |
| Bryan Coquard (FRA) | Bryan Coquard (FRA) | (1992-04-25) 25 April 1992 (age 32) |
| Aimé De Gendt (BEL) | Aimé De Gendt (BEL) | (1994-06-17) 17 June 1994 (age 30) |
| Nicolas Debeaumarché (FRA) | Nicolas Debeaumarché (FRA) | (1998-02-24) 24 February 1998 (age 26) |
| Valentin Ferron (FRA) | Valentin Ferron (FRA) | (1998-02-08) 8 February 1998 (age 26) |
| Eddy Finé (FRA) | Eddy Finé (FRA) | (1997-11-20) 20 November 1997 (age 27) |
| Milan Fretin (BEL) | Milan Fretin (BEL) | (2001-03-19) 19 March 2001 (age 23) |
| Jesús Herrada (ESP) | Jesús Herrada (ESP) | (1990-07-26) 26 July 1990 (age 34) |
| Ion Izagirre (ESP) | Ion Izagirre (ESP) | (1989-02-04) 4 February 1989 (age 35) |
| Clément Izquierdo (FRA) | Clément Izquierdo (FRA) | (2002-02-16) 16 February 2002 (age 22) |
| Oliver Knight (GBR) | Oliver Knight (GBR) | (2001-01-25) 25 January 2001 (age 24) |
| | Rider | Date of birth |
| Jonathan Lastra (ESP) | Jonathan Lastra (ESP) | (1993-06-03) 3 June 1993 (age 31) |
| Jan Maas (NED) | Jan Maas (NED) | (1996-02-19) 19 February 1996 (age 28) |
| Nolann Mahoudo (FRA) | Nolann Mahoudo (FRA) | (2002-11-17) 17 November 2002 (age 22) |
| Sam Maisonobe (FRA) | Sam Maisonobe (FRA) | (2003-09-08) 8 September 2003 (age 21) |
| Sylvain Moniquet (BEL) | Sylvain Moniquet (BEL) | (1998-01-14) 14 January 1998 (age 27) |
| Stefano Oldani (ITA) | Stefano Oldani (ITA) | (1998-01-10) 10 January 1998 (age 27) |
| Paul Ourselin (FRA) | Paul Ourselin (FRA) | (1994-04-13) 13 April 1994 (age 30) |
| Anthony Perez (FRA) | Anthony Perez (FRA) | (1991-04-22) 22 April 1991 (age 33) |
| Alexis Renard (FRA) | Alexis Renard (FRA) | (1999-06-01) 1 June 1999 (age 25) |
| Ludovic Robeet (BEL) | Ludovic Robeet (BEL) | (1994-05-22) 22 May 1994 (age 30) |
| Sergio Samitier (ESP) | Sergio Samitier (ESP) | (1995-08-31) 31 August 1995 (age 29) |
| Dylan Teuns (BEL) | Dylan Teuns (BEL) | (1992-03-01) 1 March 1992 (age 32) |
| Benjamin Thomas (FRA) | Benjamin Thomas (FRA) | (1995-09-12) 12 September 1995 (age 29) |
| Hugo Toumire (FRA) | Hugo Toumire (FRA) | (2001-10-05) 5 October 2001 (age 23) |
| Damien Touzé (FRA) | Damien Touzé (FRA) | (1996-07-07) 7 July 1996 (age 28) |

## National champions
### 2000

    Luxembourgish Time Trial, Stève Fogen

### 2001

    Estonian Road Race, Janek Tombak

### 2003

    Australian Road Race, Stuart O'Grady
    Estonian Road Race, Janek Tombak

### 2005

    French Time Trial, Sylvain Chavanel

### 2006

    French Time Trial, Sylvain Chavanel

### 2008

    French Time Trial, Sylvain Chavanel

### 2009

    Estonian Road Race, Rein Taaramäe
    Estonian Time Trial, Rein Taaramäe

### 2010

    Estonian Road Race, Kalle Kriit

### 2011

    Estonian Time Trial, Rein Taaramäe

### 2012

    Latvian Road Race, Aleksejs Saramotins
    Estonian Time Trial, Rein Taaramäe

### 2013

    Estonian Road Race, Rein Taaramäe

### 2014

    French U23 Cyclo-cross, Clément Venturini
    Estonian Time Trial, Gert Jõeäär

### 2015

    Estonian Time Trial, Gert Jõeäär
    Estonian Road Race, Gert Jõeäär

### 2016

    Estonian Time Trial, Gert Jõeäär

### 2017

    French Cyclo-cross, Clément Venturini

### 2018

    Eritrean Time Trial, Daniel Teklehaimanot

### 2019

    Eritrean Road Race, Natnael Berhane