Française des Jeux Extends Sponsorship of UCI Pro Team

France’s national lottery operator Française des Jeux has renewed its sponsorship of UCI’s FDJ.fr team for a further three years until 2016.

The sponsorship is one of the longest-running of the current teams, having been started back in 1997. In the seventeen years since then the team has taken nine stage victories in the Tour de France, the green jersey with Baden Cooke in 2003 plus the most aggressive rider award with Jérémy Roy in 2011. 

Other successes include two stage wins in the Giro d’Italia and four in the Vuelta a España, spells in the leader’s jersey in all three Grand Tours, numerous national championships, single day victories in the 1997 Paris-Roubaix, the 1997 Classica San Sebastian, the 1997 Grand Prix of Zurich, the 2006 Paris-Touris and the 2012 Vattenfall Cyclassics. 

General manager Mark Madiot says the news is of big importance. “I welcome this decision, which allows us to work on the future of a young and brilliant generation in giving them a way to achieve their ambitions. At the same time, I hail the loyalty of FDJ for French cycling and this team in particular.”

The team has been part of the UCI WorldTour since 2012 and has been confirmed as once again having a place in the sport’s top division for 2014.