Dominique Serieys, Managing Director of DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE
«The ideal profile»
«The year 2024 was marked by the creation of the NewGen programme, comprising the Espoirs and junior teams, within the DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE team. The work carried out throughout this first year has borne fruit, with excellent results and the integration of five young riders into the WorldTour team for next season. It was important to continue this momentum and, with this in mind, we are delighted to welcome Guillaume Bonnafond as NewGen manager from 1 October 2024. He spent almost his entire professional cycling career with our team. He then went on to become a coach, sports director and then performance director at the Swiss Racing Academy. Finally, for the past two years, he has been the sprint group coach at Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL. His background as a rider, his knowledge of the team and his international experience appealed to us. Guillaume is the ideal candidate.»
Guillaume Bonnafond, manager of NewGen
«An exciting challenge»
«I have always enjoyed passing on my knowledge to young people. It is interesting to help them grow and progress with the aim of integrating them into the professional team. There is continuity in career plans, which allows us to embark on long-term programmes where we really have time to lay solid foundations and see young people become men who enjoy successful professional careers. I got to know the team as a rider, and now I'm back in a new role, which ranges from recruiting and monitoring young riders to managing staff in collaboration with the WorldTour team's performance project. It's an exciting challenge with all these young people who have so much potential. We have a great season ahead of us.»
