While Ouest France revealed Thursday that Jean-René Bernaudeau was going to leave his position as boss of the TotalEnergies team to make way for Stéphane Heulot, the French team denied the information, affirming that its boss would still be there in 2026.
Jean-René Bernaudeau is not going to give up. In any case, not right away. Thursday, the daily West France claimed that the 69-year-old boss of the TotalEnergies team was going to give up his place this winter to Stéphane Heulot, who has just left the Belgian team Lotto, of which he had been manager for three years. But this Friday, the French team based in Vendée announced, via a short press release, that no change of boss was planned for next year.
“Following the information initially published in the pages of Ouest-France and relayed in the media, SA Vendée Cyclisme confirms the presence of Jean-René Bernaudeau at its head for a twenty-seventh year. In order to anticipate the major challenges that await Team TotalEnergies in the coming months, in-depth reflection is underway to strengthen the company’s core strengths. However, no decision has been made at this stage. »
Heulot was in Vendée on Monday
It is already certain that sponsor TotalEnergies will withdraw at the end of the 2026 season. It therefore remains to be seen whether it is indeed Stéphane Heulot, recognized for his address book, who will be at the head of the newly named team in 2027, and this is entirely possible. The Team reveals in its Friday edition that the former runner, aged 54, was seen on Monday in the team’s racing department, in Vendée. He would also have met the managers of TotalEnergies in the middle of the week, but without Bernaudeau, currently in Guadeloupe.
Bernaudeau created the Bonjour team in 2000
When he left Lotto, Stéphane Heulot also committed not to manage a licensed team in the Benelux for a year. Joining a French team will therefore not pose a problem. However, he must obtain written agreement from Lotto.
In the meantime, it is Jean-René Bernaudeau, the founder of the Bonjour team in 2000, which over the years has become Brioches La Boulangère, Bouygues Telecom, Europcar, and Direct Energies, who will be at the head of the TotalEnergies team when the season resumes in January.
