{"id":663796,"date":"2025-12-31T02:50:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T02:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/663796\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T02:50:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T02:50:12","slug":"they-brought-me-to-the-team-to-win-not-set-tempo-on-a-tour-climb-for-tadej-pogacar-benoit-cosnefroy-wont-be-content-as-second-fiddle-at-uae","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/663796\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThey brought me to the team to win, not set tempo on a Tour climb for Tadej Pogacar\u201d \u2013 Beno\u00eet Cosnefroy won\u2019t be content as second-fiddle at UAE"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\u201cThey brought me to the team to win second-tier races, not to set tempo on a Tour climb for Tadej Pogacar<\/a>,\u201d Cosnefroy said, addressing the assumption that every rider at UAE exists primarily to serve its superstar leader.A move few expected, including Cosnefroy himselfAfter eight seasons with Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team<\/a>, Cosnefroy\u2019s decision to leave France surprised much of the peloton. It surprised him too.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven I didn\u2019t see this transfer coming,\u201d he admitted. Interest from UAE had been there for some time, but Cosnefroy stressed that interest alone means little at a team where competition for contracts is relentless. Many riders want to wear the UAE colours, and only a handful are given the chance.<\/p>\n

What ultimately pushed the move through was clarity. Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale informed him early in the season that he would not be offered a new contract, explaining honestly that he no longer fitted into their future plans. Rather than resist the decision, Cosnefroy embraced the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt that I needed a different environment,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was the right time to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freedom inside cycling\u2019s most powerful team<\/p>\n

At first glance, UAE Team Emirates does not look like a natural destination for a rider seeking autonomy. The presence of Tadej Pogacar shapes everything from race programmes to media narratives. Cosnefroy understands that perception, but insists it does not reflect his reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might sound strange, because everyone thinks that at UAE you ride for Tadej,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I will hardly ever be riding alongside him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, Cosnefroy has been recruited to target races where UAE has traditionally shown little interest. The team is even set to line up at French one-day races it has never previously contested, a shift Cosnefroy believes is closely linked to his palmares.<\/p>\n

\u201cUAE will ride the GP du Morbihan for the first time,\u201d he noted, pointing out that it is a race he has already won three times.<\/p>\n

Alongside that, he will be given his own chances in races such as the Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold Race and Fleche Wallonne, events that suit his punchy profile and racing instincts.<\/p>\n

Why Grand Tours no longer define success<\/p>\n

Perhaps most striking is Cosnefroy\u2019s indifference towards Grand Tours, a stance that runs counter to the ambitions of many riders his age.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no place for me in the Grand Tour system, and that doesn\u2019t bother me,\u201d he said. While he acknowledged that young riders often dream of racing three-week events, he was blunt about where his enjoyment lies.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Grand Tour takes three months out of your season,\u201d Cosnefroy explained. \u201cA month to prepare, a month to race, and a month to recover. In those three months, I would much rather race other events and try to win one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

That mindset underpins his move to UAE. Success, for Cosnefroy, is no longer measured by proximity to cycling\u2019s biggest races, but by the ability to race aggressively and convert opportunities into victories.<\/p>\n

A different kind of role at UAE<\/p>\n

Cosnefroy\u2019s comments underline a broader truth about UAE Team Emirates. For all its Grand Tour dominance, the team is increasingly structured to allow specialist riders to pursue personal objectives away from the main spotlight.<\/p>\n

Cosnefroy has no issue with Pogacar\u2019s central status, nor with the hierarchy that comes with it. He simply has no interest in being defined by it.<\/p>\n

His transfer is not about becoming part of a winning machine. It is about using that machine to keep winning on his own terms.<\/p>\n

If that means skipping Tour de France mountain trains in favour of French one-day races and selective classics, Cosnefroy is more than comfortable with the trade-off.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cThey brought me to the team to win second-tier races, not to set tempo on a Tour…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[201490,4230,181809,79,16152,182814,181698,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-663796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-benoit-cosnefroy","9":"tag-cycling","10":"tag-decathlon-ag2r-la-mondiale-team","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-tadej-pogacar","13":"tag-transfers-negotiations","14":"tag-uae-team-emirates-xrg","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115811911121269059","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}