Decathlon activate Swiss plan as Paul Seixas retention battle intensifies

Five months ago, Decathlon moved quickly to dismiss reports linking the team with a switch to a Swiss licence.

The French flag is indeed staying. So is the team’s performance centre near Chambéry. But behind the scenes, part of the organisation is now moving across the border after all.

Since August 17, Decathlon CMA CGM has been registered in the Geneva commercial register through a new Swiss company, a development first uncovered by Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève. The change concerns the team’s legal and administrative structure, including the paying agent responsible for rider contracts and salaries.

The same structure will also cover the team’s development programmes and its new women’s team.

Crucially, Decathlon will remain a French WorldTeam. Its WorldTour licence will continue to be French and its sporting headquarters at La Motte Servolex will remain the operational centre of the project.

It is therefore not the change of sporting nationality that was being discussed earlier this year, but it could still have significant financial consequences.

The reason is relatively straightforward.

French employers face significantly higher social security contributions than teams operating under employment structures in countries such as Switzerland. For a WorldTour team with an increasingly ambitious roster, those additional costs can become substantial.

They become particularly relevant when negotiating the type of contracts now being discussed around Seixas.

The 19-year-old is contracted to Decathlon CMA CGM until the end of 2027 and has already said he intends to honour that agreement. What happens afterwards is a different question.

Seixas has transformed his position in the sport during 2026. Victory at Itzulia Basque Country was followed by a historic win at La Flèche Wallonne before he finished fourth overall on his Tour de France debut.

In a matter of months, he has gone from one of cycling’s biggest prospects to one of the most valuable riders on the market.

Almost every major team has subsequently been linked with the Frenchman, including UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Visma | Lease a Bike and Netcompany-Ineos. Pinarello-Q36.5 has also been associated with extraordinary salary figures, with reports suggesting a possible annual offer of €13 million, although no such figure has been publicly confirmed.

For Decathlon CMA CGM, that creates a problem that extends beyond simply finding enough money for Seixas’ salary.

Under a French employment structure, matching an enormous offer from another team could leave Decathlon with a considerably higher total bill once employer contributions are included. Moving the paying agent to Switzerland could reduce that difference and give the team greater financial room in the fight to secure Seixas’ future.

The development also casts the team’s comments from earlier this year in a new light.

In April, reports suggested Decathlon could switch to a Swiss licence. Deputy CEO Mathieu Charpentier rejected that idea and said the team would continue racing under the French flag.

That has not changed. Instead, Decathlon has chosen a different route. The sporting identity remains French, while part of the structure behind the team moves to Switzerland.

The timing is hard to ignore. Seixas is under contract until the end of 2027, but his performances this season have changed the scale of the decision Decathlon will face when that deal expires.

The Swiss structure could give Decathlon more financial room in that effort. Whether that will be enough to keep Seixas remains to be seen. What is clear is that Decathlon is already putting itself in a stronger position to try.