Coupe de France makes play for foreign teams with 2026 reboot
The season-long series will be rebranded as the FDJ United Series from next season, with non-French squads now eligible to compete for the team classification.
The Coupe de France will be revamped for 2026, with the season-long competition rebranded as the FDJ United Series. As part of the overhaul, the team classification will be opened to non-French squads.
The new identity was announced by France’s Ligue nationale de cyclisme (LNC) on Thursday night at the awards ceremony for the 2025 Coupe de France. Clément Venturini (Arkea-B&B Hotels) won this year’s classification.
LNC president Xavier Jan told DirectVelo that the rebrand was being implemented due to “the need to develop the product to enable our partners to promote it more effectively.”
There will be 15 races in the 2026 FDJ United Series, beginning with the GP La Marseillaise on February 1 and concluding with the Tour de Vendée on October 4.
Jan said that he hoped the change in rules would encourage greater participation from foreign teams in the 15 races under the FDJ United Series banner.
“Cycling has become globalised, both in terms of teams and the calendar,” Jan said. “It is up to us to gradually reinvent ourselves, while maintaining our national roots and opening up to the international scene.”
The individual prize at the Coupe de France was initially open only to French riders and later expanded to include foreign riders on French teams. Since 2016, the classification has been open to all riders and now the team competition will follow suit.
French riders have won the individual classification at the Coupe de France 29 times in its 34 seasons, while the foreign winners – Jaan Kirsipuu, Thor Hushovd, Philippe Gilbert and Leonardo Duque – all raced for French teams at the time.
