French bicycle brand Lapierre has called time to a long-standing partnership with Groupama-FDJ, it was revealed this week.

A press release sent to Cyclingnews by Pascal Care, Global PR manager and marketing coordinator at Accell Group, Lapierre's parent company, confirmed that the two were separated at 12.31 am.

The move comes after 2 years of collaboration between 22 French outfits, the longest partnership in the sport today. However, the brand will continue to support the FDJ-Suez women's team of similar names in 2024.

In a statement to Cyclingnews by Elisa Madiot-Gagnier, the team's partner and head of institutional relations, the decision is said to have come from Lapierre, not a mutual agreement between the two sides.

"Lapierre reported last week that he would go a different path next year after his contract ended at 12.31 AM," she said.

Despite this, Team manager Marcmadiot was offering his outgoing supplier free of charge.

"This is the end of a historic partnership of more than 20 years and I always remember Lapierre's great performance on the bike," he began. "During the last two decades, we have jointly developed some of the most efficient bikes in the world and it has been a great adventure full of success."

At that time, the team had dozens of victories at the highest level, winning at Milan San Remo and with riders such as Philip Gilbert and Bradley Wiggins, but more than Thibaut Pinot, who is one of the sport's most beloved riders and has been on the team since 2010. No rider has left much of the mark.

"I respect Lapierre's choice to terminate the partnership," Madio continued. "Like all companies, Lapierre has to make strategic choices. The end of this collaboration is an example of this and we respect this decision. Lapierre is a great bicycle brand and we will continue to do so.

Unsurprisingly, the move opens the door for new bike sponsors to step into Lapierre's shoes. Inrng has previously reported that Accell Group has promised the team in 2023 €1.5m, so any brand to step into to fill Lapierre's shoes will have to offer cash infusions and bike offers.