ISDE 2026: France reshuffles its Trophy and Junior teams

Composition of the French team for the ISDE 2026 World Trophy. Credit / source: Visual broadcast by Freenduro — Freenduro.

Two changes in the French selection

The ISDE 2026 will take place from October 12 to 17 in Grândola, Portugal. Théo Espinasse's package leads France to review two teams: Léo Joyon moves from the Junior Trophy to the World Trophy and Clément Clauzier joins the Juniors. Freenduro and Moto Verte report this reorganization before the start.

The consequence goes beyond the replacement of a single name. Promoting an already selected rider also moves a place available in his original team. The coaching staff must therefore prepare two groups to work in their new composition, with a now short preparation schedule.

Léo Joyon joins Pichon, Roussaly and Le Quéré

The World Trophy now brings together Zachary Pichon, Julien Roussaly, Léo Le Quéré and Léo Joyon. The Triumph rider has now access to this selection for the first time after his Junior World Championship season, which concluded in second place in the Junior scratch and Junior 1 categories according to Freenduro.

Going from an individual championship to a team event changes the way a result is read. A personal performance counts for a collective, which gives particular importance to continuity over several days. The experience gained during the season provides benchmarks, without guaranteeing on its own the result of a different event.

Clément Clauzier joins the Junior trio

Clément Clauzier, on Beta, joins Romain Dagna and Thibault Giraudon. This is his first selection for the ISDE. The women's team remains unchanged.

For a rider called in a collective, preparation is not limited to learning a course. You also need to take your bearings with the coaching, organize your week and share useful information with your partners. In a competition lasting several days, maintaining a stable working method can help avoid concentration errors that accumulate with fatigue.

Fantic maintains its support for Thibault Giraudon

In a clarification published by Freenduro, Fantic confirms the brand's support for Thibault Giraudon on the XE 300. The withdrawal of Espinasse does not therefore mean the withdrawal of Fantic from this edition.

This distinction allows us to correctly follow the different commitments: the program of a rider, that of a manufacturer and that of the national team do not overlap. For France, the next benchmarks will be the implementation of this new composition and the results obtained in Grândola, team by team.

To go deeper

• ISDE 2026: rent a Beta RR with assistance in Portugal

Article published on September 16, 2026 and enriched on September 17, 2026.