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Direct Énergie

Direct Énergie
Direct Énergie logo.svg
UCI code DEN
Registered France
Founded 2000 (2000)
Discipline Road
Status UCI Professional Continental
Bicycles BH
Website Team home page
General manager Jean-René Bernaudeau
2000–2002
2003–2004
2005–2008
2009–2010
2011–2015
2016–
Bonjour
Brioches La Boulangère
Bouygues Télécom
Bbox Bouygues Telecom
Team Europcar
Direct Énergie
Current season

Direct Énergie (UCI team code: DEN) is a professional road bicycle racing team that competes as a UCI Professional Continental team in UCI Continental Circuits races, and UCI World Tour races when invited as a wild card entry. In previous years, the team was known as Brioches La Boulangère, Bonjour, Bouygues Télécom, and Bbox Bouygues Telecom and Europcar. The 2015 season was the last under the sponsorship of Europcar; the team has been sponsored by Direct Energie since 2016.

The team was founded in 1984 as System U. The team disbanded in 1985 but returned in 1986 under new management. Cyrille Guimard became the directeur sportif, bringing his protégé Laurent Fignon who nearly won the 1989 edition of the Tour de France. A change of sponsor in 1990 renamed the team Castorama.

In 1992 Guimard became manager of the team. In 1995, Jean-René Bernaudeau, a former professional racer, became director of the team. From 1996 to 1999, the team withdrew from top-level competition. Bernaudeau set up a development team in the Vendée region called Vendée U.

In 2000, the team again became a professional team Bonjour, still under the control of the sporting director Bernaudeau. In 2003, the team became "Brioches La Boulangère", then "Bouygues Télécom" in 2005. The amateur team Vendée U still acts as feeder team for the professional team.

As Bonjour and Brioches La Boulangère the team gained prominence with promising young stars Fabrice Salanson, Thomas Voeckler and Sylvain Chavanel. Salanson's death due to heart disease in 2003 was a blow to the team. Voeckler wore the maillot jaune for 10 days in the 2004 Tour de France while also French national champion and became a national hero.


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