Cofidis announced on Friday that it would extend its sponsorship of the French cycling team for another two years, continuing their support through the end of 2012. The chief executive of the lending company, François Migraine, has been a strong supporter of the team since its inception in the late 90s.
The team was downgraded from ProTour status to a Pro Continental team by the International Cycling Union (UCI) this year due to lack of results, but has come out with a strong showing so far this season.
Sprinter Samuel Dumoulin won a stage and the overall in the Etoile de Bessèges and took victory in Gran Premio dell'Insubria-Lugano, Amaël Moinard won a stage and the mountains classification in Paris-Nice with Rein Taaramäe ending up second in the best young rider classification, Leonardo Duqure recently won the Cholet-Pays de Loire and, with wins in Le Samyn, Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen and Nokere–Koerse, 21-year-old Belgian Jens Keukeleire has shown that the team has a bright future.
This is welcome news for the Cofidis at a time when several big teams are hunting for new sponsors. Bbox Bouygues Telecom, Milram and Saxo Bank are all leaving the sport as sponsors after 2010, so each of the respective teams are tasked with finding a replacement in tough economic times.