Stéphane Heulot left his role as team manager of Lotto in September, but it seems the Frenchman will lead a team again next year. Ouest-France reports that he will succeed Jean-René Bernaudeau as team manager of TotalEnergies. The now 69-year-old Bernaudeau is said to be passing the baton after more than thirty(!) years.
Should Bernaudeau actually step down as team manager, it will mark the end of an era. The former professional cyclist founded the Vendée U cycling team 34 years ago—in 1991. This formation raced for many years at the amateur level, but in 2000, by establishing his own company (Vendée Cyclisme SA), he also made the leap to the top tier of professional cycling with a pro team.
The team was initially sponsored by Bonjour, a free advertising newspaper, and the Toupargel group, which specializes in home delivery of frozen products. The team’s co-founder—Philippe Raimbaud—quickly resigned, resulting in Bernaudeau taking full sporting control of the team.
Bernaudeau led the team, successively sponsored by Bonjour-Toupargel, Bonjour, Brioches La Boulangère, Bouygues Telecom, BBox Bouygues Telecom, Europcar, Direct Énergie, and TotalEnergies, to many successes. He did so with French crowd favorites such as Thomas Voeckler, Sylvain Chavanel, Pierrick Fédrigo, and Pierre Rolland.
Thomas Voeckler was one of Bernaudeau’s proteges – photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
After just over thirty years, however, Bernaudeau feels the time has come to step down. It is now up to Heulot to fill his (large) shoes. The 54-year-old Frenchman had been at the helm of the Belgian Lotto formation for the past three years, where he was responsible for the team’s sporting and organizational structure. In September, however, he was sidelined because there was no place for him in the new fusion team.
The new team manager Heulot immediately faces a significant challenge: finding a new title sponsor. TotalEnergies previously announced that its partnership would end at the close of 2026. The collaboration began in 2019, after which the team raced for three years under the name Direct Energie and later under TotalEnergies.
For Heulot, this means searching for a new financial backer to secure the team’s future from 2027 onwards. The decision not to continue the partnership after 2026 is not unexpected. Since July, TotalEnergies has also been a sponsor of INEOS Grenadiers. According to various sources from Cyclingnews, the French energy giant will invest around €15 million in INEOS Grenadiers. This amount is in line with what the company currently invests in its own ProTeam.
