Périgueux Dordogne cycling club 2027 season goals Coupe de France N3, Digi Mart USA News (Périgueux, France): Looking back on the season, Yohan Poirier, the sporting director of the Cyclo Club Périgueux Dordogne (CCPD), describes mixed feelings. The club finished 2026 10th in the Coupe de France N3 and 8th in the Challenge DirectVelo, results that reflect the overall level of the Périgord squad.
Still, Poirier says the club could clearly have done better.
The early injury to team leader Clément Le Boetez, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine champion, kept him out of competition for two months at the start of the season. That setback prevented CCPD from starting 2026 under good conditions.
Despite an exemplary captaincy role after his return to the bike, the team lacked consistency to support Le Boetez in the national rounds.
To take a step forward, Poirier made the strategic decision to reduce the squad from 17 to 14 riders. Nine riders remain, while the roster adds four external arrivals and the promotion of young rider Eliaz Dubos from the Open section.
The returns of Théo Laffineur and Clément Laporte provide immediate reinforcement. Laffineur will share leadership duties with Le Boetez on races suited to road sprinters.
The recruitment is completed by Matthieu Duby (Dordogne Sud, climber profile) and under-19 rider Matéo Belguise (Team ULH Limoges).
One of the biggest successes of the off-season is the retention of Le Boetez, who renewed his commitment at the last moment on Saturday evening, before the transfer window closed, despite good opportunities elsewhere. “He stays because he loves the team and the atmosphere we have built,” Poirier says.
With the departure of Aurélien Pasquet, who is retiring, the oldest member of the group is now 26, bringing the average age to about 21.
The goal for the new season is now openly stated: to target the overall Coupe de France N3 victory, or at least the podium. The first round in Ardèche on February 28 is expected to be difficult and demanding.
CCPD will favor a targeted one-week training camp two weeks beforehand rather than accumulating unsuitable return races. The next three events, Bordeaux-Saintes, Sologne and the Mémorial d’Automne in Chasseneuil, match the strengths of the Périgord riders.
The ambition is to be in the national top three on the evening of May 1 after Sologne, in order to secure a place at the French championships in Altkirch. “All the stages are linked: if we want to win the Coupe de France, we have to validate that ticket,” the sporting director explains.
To achieve this, Poirier aims to place at least two riders in the top 10 at each key round. The club also intends to compete in the Élite Nationale and the Essor Breton, targeting top-five or top-10 overall finishes.
“We won’t go just to make up the numbers or win a stage,” Poirier warns, “but to go for a result in the general classification.”
Beyond tactics, CCPD’s success rests on a human recipe built on solidarity and friendship. “Nine times out of ten, conviviality is not a weakness, it is what makes us win,” the sporting director says.
To strengthen this unity, the off-season features original team-building activities, including training camps and gatherings for riders.
The season can now begin, the CCPD is ready to compete, and Poirier says he is “eager to get going.”
