FDJ-SUEZ

As the only French representative in the WorldTour, the Poitiers-based team is competing in its 19th season. The team has a family story at its origin. To give his daughter, Emmanuelle Merlot, the 2002 French O15 champion, an opportunity to pursue a career in elite cycling, Gatien Merlot, a businessman, and Serge Gautreau enlisted the help of the Vienne department and the Futuroscope park to finance the creation of a team bringing together the best French women. At the time, a structure of this kind did not exist in the country. The team was created in 2006 and quickly excelled with Marina Jaunâtre (seventh at the 2007 World Championships) and Carina Gauthard (2006 French U23 time trial champion).

In 2014, the arrival of the Poitou-Charentes region (which later became Nouvelle-Aquitaine after the merger of the regions) enabled the team to double its budget. The major turning point came in 2017 with the reinforcement of FDJ, the long-standing sponsor of Marc Madiot's men's team. The team has since moved up to a whole new level, joined forces with Suez in 2022, and recruited foreign talent, including the Dane Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (winner of the stage to Épernay in the inaugural edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift), the Italian Marta Cavalli (2022 Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne champion), and the Australian Grace Brown, who nabbed the team its first-ever monument (Liège–Bastogne–Liège) last spring. The operation, firmly ensconced in the world top 5, remains a family affair. Emmanuelle Merlot is president and her husband, Stephen Delcourt, has been the manager since 2008.