Pierre Gautherat leaves Paul Seixas for Pogacar’s UAE team

Pierre Gautherat will leave Decathlon CMA CGM for UAE Team Emirates-XRG next season, moving into Tadej Pogacar’s team and ending his current spell alongside Paul Seixas. The transfer adds to an increasingly unsettled offseason for Decathlon, which has already seen Felix Gall and Gregor Mühlberger linked with departures.

The 23-year-old Frenchman has signed with UAE through 2029. Gautherat arrives as a specialist in one-day racing after winning Paris-Camembert and a stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk. His move gives him the chance to support Pogacar in the classics while retaining opportunities to race for his own results.

His development will be measured against the example of Benoît Cosnefroy, who made the same switch from Decathlon a year earlier and has already collected five victories in an Emirati jersey. Gautherat’s move therefore strengthens UAE’s options in the races where Pogacar is a central target.

The transfer also highlights the expected movement between the two teams. Pavel Sivakov is set to go in the opposite direction, joining Decathlon to bring experience to Seixas, including during the Tour de France. Decathlon thus loses another rider while preparing a more experienced support role around its young French talent.