After a period in the mid-1990s when the professional cycling scene in France was contracting – resulting in the 1996 French National Road Race Championships elite race being held on a pro–am basis due to the reduced number of professional riders – by the time of the team's launch in 1997 they faced competition for riders in France from fellow newcomers Cofidis as well as the expanding Casino team and the already established GAN outfit.

[3] The team's initial lineup included younger French riders such as teenagers Nicolas Vogondy and Damien Nazon as well as more experienced foreign racers like Davide Rebellin, Mauro Gianetti, Max Sciandri and Andrea Peron.

The inaugural squad also included the reigning French national champions in road racing, time trialling and cyclo-cross – Stéphane Heulot, Eddy Seigneur and Christophe Mengin respectively.

[3] In the 2003 edition of Tour de France, Australian individual time trial specialist Bradley McGee won the prologue stage to wear the yellow jersey for a few days.

[7] In February 2019, Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung broke news that a number of professional cyclists had been implicated in the doping scandal uncovered at the 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.