{"id":67733,"date":"2025-08-15T01:14:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T01:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/67733\/"},"modified":"2025-08-15T01:14:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T01:14:10","slug":"as-a-frenchman-that-speaks-volumes-berthet-swaps-decathlon-for-groupama-fdj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/67733\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAs a Frenchman, that speaks volumes\u201d \u2013 Berthet swaps Decathlon for Groupama \u2013 FDJ"},"content":{"rendered":"

Groupama \u2013 FDJ have confirmed the signing of Cl\u00e9ment Berthet<\/a>
\nfor the 2026 season, adding a proven climber to their roster. The 28-year-old
\nFrenchman has spent over four years with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, riding two
\nTours de France, most recently finishing 36th in the general classification
\nthis summer. He will join Groupama \u2013 FDJ\u2019s climbers\u2019 squad on a three-year
\ndeal, working alongside riders such as David Gaudu and Romain Gr\u00e9goire.<\/p>\n

Berthet\u2019s career has been unconventional. Originally a
\nmountain biker, he switched to road racing in 2021 and quickly established
\nhimself in the professional peloton. His best result in 2025 was a runner-up
\nfinish in the general classification at the Vuelta a Andaluc\u00eda Ruta Ciclista
\nDel Sol. He also took 4th place on stage 6 of the 2024 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a and 5th
\non stage 9 of the 2023 Tour de France. Those results underline a rider with the
\nclimbing pedigree and consistency to be a valuable asset in stage races.<\/p>\n

Leaving Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale comes at a time of
\ntransition for his current team. With the arrival of a new sponsor and a larger
\nbudget, the French outfit is aiming for a place among the sport\u2019s elite.
\nReports suggest they are targeting riders like Olav Kooij and nurturing talents
\nsuch as Paul Seixas. For Berthet, the shift to Groupama \u2013 FDJ represents a new
\nchapter in a squad he sees as both a national standard-bearer and a WorldTour
\nmainstay.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In the team\u2019s announcement, Berthet said, \u201cGroupama-FDJ, as
\na Frenchman, that speaks volumes! It’s a bit of a spearhead at the French
\nlevel, in addition to being a reference at the WorldTour level for many years.
\nMy adolescence was built on the first exploits of Thibaut Pinot; it’s a
\nlegendary team in the peloton.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ll arrive full of ambition, with the desire to perform
\nand enjoy these years, which are probably the best for me physically. The fact
\nthat I’m from Besan\u00e7on is a little extra, but above all, I want to join a team
\nwith a human touch, which offers an ideal environment to express myself and
\nperform in the biggest races. I’ll have great opportunities to express myself
\nand bring consistency to the group of climbers, with Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet
\nand David Gaudu.\u201d<\/p>\n

Groupama \u2013 FDJ sports director Philippe Mauduit also praised
\nthe signing. \u201cCl\u00e9ment is a rider who stands out for his personality, his
\ntalent, and his team spirit. His climbing skills make him an additional asset
\nto our team.<\/p>\n

\u201cCl\u00e9ment will seize his opportunity when it presents itself,
\nwhile being a rider our climbers can rely on to help the team achieve great
\nresults. Cl\u00e9ment is entering his prime years, and we are counting on him to
\nshare his experience and make the team shine in the most beautiful races on the
\ncalendar.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Groupama \u2013 FDJ have confirmed the signing of Cl\u00e9ment Berthet for the 2026 season, adding a proven climber…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":67734,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-67733","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}