{"id":216223,"date":"2025-10-21T20:21:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T20:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/216223\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T20:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T20:21:09","slug":"decathlon-ag2r-marks-sam-bennetts-team-exit-with-highlights-reel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/216223\/","title":{"rendered":"Decathlon AG2R marks Sam Bennett’s team exit with highlights reel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Sam Bennett endured some tough times at Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, but here were also nine wins during his two years with the French team (Photo: Elias Rom)<\/p>\n

Sam Bennett\u2019s exit from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale at the end of his contact on December 31st has been expected for some time. And now the team has made his departure official by honouring him in high lights video.<\/p>\n

The French World Tour team has bid au revoir to 11 of its 2025 riders today. Alongside Bennett are Beno\u00eet Cosnefroy, Nans Peters, Geoffrey Bouchard, Dorian Godon, Bastien Tronchon, Andrea Vendrame, Cl\u00e9ment Berthet, Bruno Armirail, Victor Lafay and Dries De Bondt.<\/p>\n

Bennett will be replaced as sprinter in the team by Olav Kooij, who has ridden for Visma-Lease a Bike for the past five years. 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Though Ireland\u2019s Bennett endured some tough times with the French team over the last two years \u2013 and did not captured a hoped-for 11th Grand Tour stage win, he picked up some sprint victories along the way.<\/p>\n

Bennett secured the first of his nine wins with the team at 4 Jours de Dunkerque (2.Pro) in May of last year, where he won four stages and the overall<\/a> in the five-stage race. The following month, he just missed out on winning<\/a> the opening stage of Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 (2.UWT) when he was 2nd to Mads Pedersen (Lidl Trek).<\/p>\n

And though he returned to the Tour de France that year \u2013 for the first time since his double stage and green jersey triumph \u2013 he abandoned with illness the day after his best finish, 4th on stage 16 to N\u00eemes.<\/p>\n

This year, he got off the mark much sooner; taking two stage wins<\/a> at Tour de la Provence (2.1) back in February, before taking two more victories<\/a> \u2013 and the points classification \u2013 at R\u00e9gion Pays de la Loire Tour (2.1) in April.<\/p>\n

But since then, the results have been thin on the ground. A return to the Giro d\u2019Italia \u2013 the scene of his Grand Tour breakthrough in 2018, when he won two stages \u2013 yielded just one top 10, placing 6th on stage 4.<\/p>\n

He has ridden two stage races and three one-day races since finishing the Giro on June 1st, abandoning them all. A crash at Tour de Pologne<\/a> in August, after two months away from racing, was a major setback as he tried to crank up the second part of his season.<\/p>\n

Bennett said at the start of the Giro this year he felt he could race for four more seasons. And though he wants to continue, no firm team plans had been announced for him next year at the time of writing.<\/p>\n

Merci Sam \ud83e\udef6 pic.twitter.com\/hcS3VuR35g<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM (@decathlonAG2RLM) October 21, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

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