Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, which has counted Irish sprinter Sam Bennett among its roster for the last two years, has signed a new sprinter and a group of lead-out riders to help him win in the team's colours next year.
Olav Kooij had already been linked with the French team, which has now confirmed the Dutch rider will race for it for at least the next three years.
Bennett was expected to exit the team when his two-year contract expires and the decision by the team to also recruit a second sprinter - as well as Kooij and his lead-out group - effectively confirms Bennett's departure.
Kooij's signing has become a significant investment, given the group of riders he is bringing with him, at a time when Decathlon has taken ownership of the team and is pumping significant amounts of money into it, with new sponsors.
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Kooij (23) is currently riding for Visma-Lease a Bike and has done so since stepping up from its U23 team to its World Tour squad at the start of the 2021 season.
However, with two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard in that team, for at least the next three year's - not to mention Wout van Aert - Kooij's chances of riding the Tour with lead-out support looked slim if he stayed. But at Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, he will be a star rider, with support, in its Tour team.
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Kooij has secured 46 wins to date, including two stage victories at Giro d'Italia this year, and one last season. He has just completed the Tour of Britain, where he won three stages and the points classification.
The Dutch rider will be aided over the next three years Cees Bol (XDS Astana) and Robbe Ghys (Alpecin-Deceuninck), as well as Dutch TT champion, Daan Hoole (Lidl-Trek), with all signing three-year deals..
Denmark's Tobias Lund Andresen has also been signed, for three years, from Picnic PostNL. Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale has said the 23-year-old will be its "second leading sprinter in 2026". He has won stages at Tour of Denmark, Tour of Turkey and CRO Race and was 3rd in the bunch finish stage at the Tour de France this year.
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team manager, Sebastian Joly, said the team - which will be named Decathlon CMA CGM next year - expected to increase its number of wins next year due to the new riders coming on board.
"We are delighted to welcome Olav, Daan , Robbe , Cees and Tobias to the team," he said. "With these signings, we know we will have the capacity to achieve more WorldTour victories starting next season.
"Olav Kooij is still a young but already experienced sprinter. Our goal is to support him so that he continues to improve in the coming years in order to win the biggest sprints on the calendar."
