Published on : 06/30/2026
In the wake of the announcement of the squad for the Tour de France, Cofidis team manager Raphaël Jeune sets out the team’s ambitions for the three-week race. The aim: stage victory. Raphaël outlines the strategy to help Milan Fretin shine and reiterates the strong confidence he has in all the riders and the support staff.
How was this team put together?
It is the result of a collective effort carried out throughout the year with the performance unit and all the sports directors. We are approaching this Tour de France with great ambition. Our goal is clear: to secure one or more stage wins!
“Milan has already demonstrated his full potential”
To achieve this, part of the team is dedicated to ensuring Milan Fretin’s success…
Yes, the sprints will be 100 per cent focused on Milan. He’ll be able to draw on the experience of Alex Kirsch, Piet Allegaert, Jenthe Biermans and also Benjamin Thomas to ensure he’s in the best possible position in the final stretch. We know this is essential to compete against teams like Alpecin-Premier Tech, Lidl-Treck and Soudal Quick-Step.
Milan has won once this season (Stage 3 of the Ruta del Sol). How exactly does one manage to beat the sprint giants?
Milan has already shown the full extent of his talent in some of cycling's biggest races. Last year, we saw him outsprint Wout van Aert. This season, he has gone toe-to-toe with Jonathan Milan and matched Jasper Philipsen. Milan has racked up a string of podium finishes throughout the season and was able to fine-tune his lead-out train during a three-week training camp in Sierra Nevada, Spain. I have complete confidence in his abilities. There should be at least six sprint opportunities, and I know he'll do everything he can to take a victory.
“What matters is that the riders feel good”
On the steep and medium-mountain stages, the team will also have plenty of strengths…
Yes, absolutely. We’ll be able to count on Alex Aranburu and Ion Izagirre, who are both having a brilliant season. Furthermore, riders such as Jenthe Biermans, Hugo Page, Benjamin Thomas and Alex Kirsch will be able to help them get into the breakaway, conserve energy when necessary and maximise our chances of victory.
Is the plan to pace ourselves over the three weeks, or to give it our all right from the start?
At Cofidis, we’re going to approach each stage as if it were a classic. We know we won’t be able to compete in the mountain stages against all the favourites. However, we’ve identified the stages where we’re likely to shine. And we’ll do our utmost to seize every opportunity that comes our way!
You’re about to set off on your 23rd Tour de France. What might this year’s race look like?
I think the favourites will make their presence felt right from the team time trial, and it’s a safe bet that Tadej Pogacar will be wearing the yellow jersey from the very first stage. It would be madness to expect to keep it for the whole Tour, but with him, you can expect anything! In any case, I’m sure there’ll be opportunities. That’ll be the case right up to the rest day in the Cantal, and then at least until the stage leading to the Markstein (stage 14).
What will it take for this Tour de France to be a success for Cofidis?
With plenty of desire, determination and ambition. The team has shown its fighting spirit since the start of the season, consistently finishing in the top ten. The current momentum is particularly encouraging, and our recent results speak for themselves. I'm thinking of Alex Aranburu's victory at the Baloise Belgium Tour, Ion Izagirre's third place overall at the Route Occitanie-CIC, and Alex Kirsch's Luxembourg National Time Trial title. Now it's up to us to keep that momentum going while enjoying the challenge of battling it out every day to make the team shine.