Romain Bardet is set to rejoin Decathlon-CMA CGM in an off-bike role inside the team's sporting staff, with the French squad wanting him to help shape the environment around young leader Paul Seixas (Decathlon-CMA CGM), L'Équipe reported on June 14. The role has not been finalised, but an official announcement is expected soon.
Bardet, 35, retired from professional road cycling exactly a year ago, on June 15, 2025, after the final stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné between Val-d'Arc and the Mont-Cenis plateau. The appointment, one year later, and following a slight misfire at the same race by Seixas, seems all too fitting.
According to L'Équipe, his new position will carry wide-ranging responsibilities at the head of the team's sporting division, rather than a narrow coaching or directeur sportif brief.
The team's leadership chose Bardet because they see him as a valuable sounding board and guide for Seixas's progression. The two riders share the same agent, Joona Laukka, and Bardet has maintained close ties with Decathlon-CMA CGM's current performance director and deputy head of sport, Jean-Baptiste Quiclet, who was Bardet's personal coach throughout his years at AG2R La Mondiale. L'Équipe said Bardet could work in close collaboration with Quiclet.
Rumours had circulated in recent weeks linking Bardet to a possible succession of Dominique Serieys, the 64-year-old general manager, but L'Équipe said multiple sources firmly rejected that idea.
Why Bardet fits the Seixas project
Bardet's Tour de France pedigree helps explain the hire. He finished second overall in 2016, third in 2017, won four Tour stages across 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2024, claimed the mountains classification in 2019 and wore the yellow jersey after the opening stage in Rimini in 2024. He knows the media pressure that surrounds a young French rider expected to challenge for the podium.
Seixas is already attracting that attention. The 19-year-old has won La Flèche Wallonne, the Itzulia Basque Country overall with three stage victories, and the Faun Ardèche Classic in 2026, while finishing second at both Strade Bianche and Liège–Bastogne–Liège. In a statement on May 4, Decathlon-CMA CGM confirmed that Seixas would make his Tour de France debut this July, starting in Barcelona with what the team called "genuine ambitions to achieve the best possible result in the general classification."
"It is not in my nature, nor is it my conception of cycling, to compete in the Tour de France with the sole aim of learning the ropes," Seixas said in the team statement. "I will be aiming for the best possible finish."
Decathlon-CMA CGM has framed its long-term strategy around Seixas. In an AFP interview published in March, Serieys said the team had the financial backing to retain him when his contract expires at the end of next season. "We have a solid shareholder and partners called Decathlon and CMA CGM," Serieys said, adding that the team had visibility on its project through to 2033–2035. The team's budget rose above €40 million for 2026, up from €28 million the previous year.
Bardet had already spoken publicly about Seixas before the role was reported. In L'Équipe in October 2025, following Seixas's bronze medal at the European Championships behind Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), Bardet said: "We are certainly looking at a really unique phenomenon. From everything I hear, he has a perspective, a carefree quality and above all the legs that will take him far."
Since retiring, Bardet has stayed active in gravel racing, winning the Rule of Three event in the United States on May 16 and competing in UCI Gravel World Cup rounds in Spain and Monaco earlier this year. He was also approached by Christian Prudhomme and Amaury Sport Organisation about an organisational role on the Tour Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes, but declined.
L'Équipe said Bardet still has gravel commitments to honour, and his presence at the Tour de France, which starts July 4, is not yet confirmed. The formal details of his Decathlon-CMA CGM role are expected in the coming weeks.
Cover image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com
