'I want to be Olympic champion' - Bryan Coquard announces track return

Bryan Coquard has announced his return to track cycling with the stated aim of winning gold at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

The Frenchman claimed a silver medal in the Omnium at the London 2012 Olympics, but he will now switch his focus to the Madison. He will form a partnership with Cofidis teammate Benjamin Thomas, who claimed the Omnium title in Paris two years ago.

Coquard tipped his toe back into the water when he rode the French Track Championships in early 2025, but he confirmed his Olympic goal at a press conference in Paris on Tuesday.

“If I’m coming back, it’s to be Olympic champion,” Coquard said, according to L’Équipe. “This could be a chance to come full circle, since I was discovered on the track in London. Since then, I’ve always said I dreamed of being an Olympic champion, but I never went back. I didn’t have the energy. 

“There were a lot of expectations on the road, it was difficult to focus. But at the French Championships last winter, I was like a kid, overjoyed to be on the velodrome. It was a long process of reflection, but my wife really pushed me to give it another go.”

Coquard confirmed that his track ambitions will be pursued in parallel with his road career, and he downplayed the idea that the expiry of his Cofidis contract at the end of 2027 was a factor in his decision to return to the boards. 

“That doesn’t worry me at all,” said Coquard, who will race on the track in Lyon and Hyères in May in order to pick up the points necessary to qualify for the World Championships in Shanghai in October. Coquard and Thomas are also set to ride the Gent Six next winter.

“My biggest area for improvement is the tactical aspect and race vision,” Coquard said. “We’ll have to race at a high level, under difficult conditions, to work on our reflexes and positioning.”

The 33-year-old is in his fourth season at Cofidis, and he started the campaign on a high with victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste La Marseillaise and last week’s Visit South Aegean GP.