Who’s best to back Vollering, Chabbey and Wollaston? Analysing the FDJ-SUEZ rider recruitment strategy for 2026

Franziska Koch (Image credit: Getty Images)

Now that FDJ-SUEZ holds the top ranking to start the 2026 season, the team hasn’t finished their story but have more chapters to write in their history. Having climbed to the top of the WorldTour, it’s time to reload and hold position.

Four riders departed this year, including the retirement of Eugénia Duval who spent her entire 11-year career with the FDJ programme, and a solid quartet of new signings bring experience so the team won’t skip a beat.

Team General Manager Stephen Delcourt uses “combative” as a common description for each new rider. Three of the four move from other WorldTour teams – Franziska Koch (Picnic PostNL), Eva van Agt (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Sofia Bertizzolo (UAE Team ADQ).

Among that group, 25-year-old Koch already has six seasons on the WorldTour level, bringing versatility and her German road title for the next two seasons. She has spent a bulk of energy to support sprinter Charlotte Kool, who had podiums at Scheldeprijs and Gent-Wevelgem but only one win last year on stage 1 at Baloise Ladies Tour. Koch has the power to help Vollering and Chabbey in stage races, while should have the freedom to go for stage wins and one-day race results.

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Bertizzolo has raced six of the last 10 years on the WorldTour level, where she focused on one-day racing and shorter stage races. While she has supported compatriot Elisa Longo Borghini as a top lieutenant in races such as Dwars door Vlaanderen and De Brabantse Pijl, the Italian finished fifth overall at Tour de Pologne Women and was second at the 1.Pro GP Oetingen this past year.

Dutch all-rounder Van Agt is what Delcourt calls a “luxury domestique”, where the 28-year-old developed in three years at Visma-Lease a Bike. She is best on punchy hills, be it a one-day contest or a Grand Tour.Last she finished fifth in the Festival Esly Jacobs a Garnich and fourth overall at Tour of Norway Women.

“She is the kind of rider every team dreams of, ready to sacrifice herself for her leaders but also capable of igniting the race when the moment arises,” Delcourt said in a team statement regarding her two-year contract.

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On the opposite side of the spectrum, Delcourt touted the addition of Lauren Dickson, just 25, as an exciting challenge as her background “doesn’t fit the traditional profile”, but the team was impressed with her breakthrough season at the Continental level.

The young Scottish triathlete turned cyclist won the British road series race Lincoln Grand Prix in May and then finished third overall in the Tour of Norway Women. She added top 10s in both the road race and ITT at British Road Nationals.

Amber Kraak of FDJ – SUEZ attacks in the breakaway during the Tour de Suisse Women 2025 (Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

What makes FDJ-SUEZ formidable in their quest to retain a top WorldTour ranking is the cohesiveness with the roster. Not only was there little turnover headed into 2026, but the team also extended contracts for a cluster of four proven riders. Nothing quite says ‘confidence’ like job security.

In May, extensions were secured for Vittoria Guazzini through 2028 and Amber Kraak through 2027, locking in two core riders with powerful engines for one-day Classics.

In Guazzini’s first year with FDJ in 2022, she won world titles on the track and on the road, as part of Italy’s Team Pursuit squad and the U23 winner in the individual time trial. The Italian’s speed landed her back-to-back ITT national titles and a win at Le Samyn des Dames.

Kraak has versatility on hilly terrain and finishing speed to put the team in good positions in almost any race. She followed an overall title at UAE Tour Women in her first season with the squad in 2024 with an impressive GC title at Tour de Suisse Women.

French riders Léa Curinier and Marie Le Net will return, both seen as promising talents on the rise for a home team. The duo finished one-two at the French road nationals, Le Net scoring the title after going second in 2023. They’ll both be team assets in Spring Classics, Le Net finishing fifth at Danilith Nokere Koerse and Curinier third at GP de Chambery last year, and are strong options for a Tour de France Femmes squad as well.

FDJ-SUEZ went through a major rebuilding process after a modest 2024, where they won 13 races, six by Grace Brown who retired at the end of the year. They then landed the highly-productive Vollering, and along with that an apparel deal with Nike and more support for Specialized. Those moves would have been enough for some teams, but instead of adding development riders they continued with proven talent, adding Chabbey, Berthet and Wollaston.

The team notched 22 road victories in 2025, and it wasn’t just the Vollering show.

Wollaston opened the season with the stage 1 win at Santos Tour Down Under and the New Zealander followed with victories at womens’ Surf Coast Classic and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. Chabbey came through on stage 1 at Volta a Catalunya and then one stage and the GC at Tour de Romandie Feminin. Berthet secured WorldTour points with fourth at Amstel Gold Race and fifth overall at womens’ Vuelta a España and Vuelta a Burgos.

Vollering marked her debut with the team with the first European victory of 2025, winning stage 1 of Setmana Ciclista Valenciana and then going on to secure the overall in the four-day stage race in early February. She was a dominant force in the Grand Tours, winning Vuelta a España Femenina and taking second on GC at Tour de France Femmes.

New signings and contract extensions that make up nearly half the squad are a sign of confidence and a mission for consistency.

An illustration of the chemistry and “combative” spirit at FDJ-SUEZ was at the Tour of Britain Women last summer when Wollaston won the overall using a full team effort. She was tied on time with Cat Ferguson (Movistar) and needed bonus points on the final lap to give her the edge, which was also her top career moment, so far.

“It was a big ask for me to get the bonus seconds. The team was so amazing that day. I had a full leadout for every sprint. It was the best feeling ever, my first GC WorldTour win. One of my favourite days on the bike, ever,” she said in a team social post.

Look for FDJ-SUEZ to stay at the top and be the team to beat in 2026.