{"id":306258,"date":"2025-11-24T20:25:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T20:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/306258\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T20:25:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T20:25:08","slug":"a-story-ill-remember-for-a-long-time-one-month-after-retiring-french-rider-handed-career-lifeline-in-surprise-move-to-totalenergies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/306258\/","title":{"rendered":"‘A story I\u2019ll remember for a long time’ \u2013 One month after retiring, French rider handed career lifeline in surprise move to TotalEnergies"},"content":{"rendered":"

“After 7 intense and memorable years, it’s time to hang up the bike,” is what Geoffrey Bouchard<\/a> said on October 13 as he thought his time in professional cycling had come to an end, but just over a month later, TotalEnergies announced him as a surprise signing for 2026.<\/p>\n

Bouchard came to the pro peloton late, making his debut with AG2R La Mondiale in 2018 and staying there for the next seven years. Not a prolific winner, Bouchard did have several high points, notably taking the King of the Mountains jersey at the Giro d’Italia<\/a> and Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a. He has one professional victory from a stage of the 2022 Tour of the Alps<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After crashing out of the Tour de Luxembourg and fracturing his collarbone, and amid the current climate of team chaos, with Ark\u00e9a-B&B Hotels folding and Lotto and Intermarch\u00e9 heading into a merger, Bouchard accepted that his days were limited and retirement was imminent.<\/p>\n

Best picks for you<\/p>\n

TotalEnergies picked up the phone a few weeks later and offered him a lifeline in the sport, to race for one year as a climbing domestique and mentor some of their younger riders. Bouchard took the opportunity with both hands.<\/p>\n

“I had announced my retirement because I had crashed and broken my collarbone at the Tour of Luxembourg. I thought that with the current situation, the closure of many teams, it was going to be very difficult to find a new team,” Bouchard told Eurosport France<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“In mid-November, I received a call from the TotalEnergies team. I wondered what the reason for his call was. And now, here I am, back for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a story I\u2019ll remember for a long time. I was touched by the attention the team showed me. I quickly realized the opportunity, especially since I was preparing to retire from competitive cycling at the end of the year. The discussions convinced me to continue cycling at a high level, within a team that suits me: aggressive and uninhibited.”<\/p>\n

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

Bouchard’s 2025 season was hit by several injuries, in Luxembourg but also in the Giro d’Italia, where he crashed in the same high-speed corner as Mikel Landa on stage 1 in Albania and fractured his collarbone and vertebrae. With only 35 race days and no wins in a contract year, it’s no surprise that he, too, was not anticipating any opportunity to arise.<\/p>\n

“It was unexpected, yes. Team TotalEnergies wanted to fill out its calendar and had additional support in the mountains to assist their talented young riders,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I fit the bill perfectly. I still had that love, that desire to do sport. I don’t want to have any regrets about what I didn’t do these past few years.<\/p>\n

“I still had the ambition to find a team again. As the weeks went by, one thing led to another. I thought it was over. But the discussions I had with the Team TotalEnergies staff gave me a breath of fresh air. I’m going to change my environment. With the minor physical issues I’ve had in the past, it’s a very good thing. And honestly, a few months ago, it was the team I hoped to join, the team I was aiming for.”<\/p>\n

During his time on TotalEnergies, he will ride under the management of Director of Sport, Beno\u00eet Genauzeau, but also long-term team boss Jean-Ren\u00e9 Bernaudeau, who \u2013 despite rumours of his departure \u2013 the team confirmed would be staying on for a 27th year as general manager<\/a> of the Vend\u00e9e outfit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“After 7 intense and memorable years, it’s time to hang up the bike,” is what Geoffrey Bouchard said…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306259,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-306258","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}