Cofidis will launch a women's team in 2022. The announcement was made Friday morning by Cofidis president Thierry Vitoux during an online presentation of the men's and para-cycling teams for the upcoming season.

"I have a habit of saying that sports teams should represent the Cofidis company. We have a men's professional team and a paracycling division, which reflect a significant part of the Cofidis company, but we are a group of 5,500 people, the majority of whom are women. So something is missing," Vitoux says. [Starting in 2022, the Cofidis group will have a female team. Not this year, but there will definitely be one team in 2022."

Cofidis joins Team DSM, Movistar, Bike Exchange, Trek-Segafredo, Jumbo Visma, Lotto Soudal, and Groupama-FDJ, which shares resources with FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroz, as the eighth women's team It will be the third men's WorldTour team.

Vittu admitted that the men's team was "disappointed" in its debut World Tour season in 2020.

Cofidis failed to win a World Tour race in 2020, totaling only two wins. Attilio Viviani won a stage at La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in January, and Anthony Perez won a stage at the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var the following month. Cofidis failed to win a single race after the season resumed in August following a hiatus due to a coronavirus outbreak.

However, newcomer Guillaume Martin finished third overall at the Criterium du Dauphiné and impressed at the Tour de France, finishing 11th overall. He then played a key role in Julien Alaphilippe's world championship win and was crowned king of the mountains at the Vuelta a España.

"I had a very good year, but I have yet to raise my arms in victory at Cofidis.

"As a cyclist and a sportsman, that's what you want more than anything. It's been a strange year, but I felt all year that something was building with the climbers on the team, and I hope to continue in that direction this season."

Another of the team's signature riders, Elia Viviani, had a disappointing debut season at Cofidis as he and his leadout did not perform well. The Italian sprinter was determined to improve in 2021 and cited Milan-San Remo as an early target.

"2020 was a really weird year, but that's no excuse because a lot of riders won races.

"This feeling of not winning races was strange, really strange for me. We talked a lot about the season, what was good and what was bad.