Total Direct Energie change name and kit design after sponsor rebrand

French UCI ProTeam Total Direct Energie have changed their name and the whole look after their title sponsor has rebranded.

The team is now called Team TotalEnergies and brings a huge amount of colour to the peloton with their brightly coloured jersey as well as joining Cofidis in donning the riders with red bib shorts.

Bringing the colours of the rainbow to the peloton along with the white jersey should make the team very easy to spot as they go up against far more subdued kits on the backs of their rivals.

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In a team press release, Martin Bertran, historical director of cycling sponsorship since 2016, said: “The new visual identity of TotalEnergies is a small revolution in our energy sector: joyful, colourful, innovative, it reflects the strong ambition of the company, that to become the company of all energies, committed to carbon neutrality by 2050. 

"Applying these tones to the Team's outfit was a challenge and a great pleasure! I spoke with the runners, who I believe very much appreciate this new design: so much the better! It is up to them to bring new hours of glory to this new outfit."

The team will debut their new attire at the Tour de France which starts on June 26 in Brest.

One of the team's big-name riders, Niki Terpstra said: "I really like this new jersey, there is a lot of white which makes it very classy. There are also beautiful colours which perfectly represent the new logo and the image of TotalEnergies."

French rider Fabien Doubey added: "I am surprised with the result. It was difficult to imagine colours after the reveal of the TotalEnergies logo. This jersey is very modern. It is in tune with the times. Personally, I like it. This will allow us to stand out even more compared to the other teams and that's great."

This rebranding has come shortly after the team were linked with a huge potential signing of Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and his entourage. This was reported by both Gazzetta dello Sport and L'Equipe but it would require €8million as he brings 11 riders and staff with him.

Deceuninck - Quick-Step boss, Patrick Lefevere also mentioned the link after saying his team were not interested in signing the Slovak if it meant bringing his whole entourage too.

Lefevere said: "Until recently I heard from Lombardi that a team was willing to take everyone on board. I also read that it would be Direct Energie, but to be honest: I don't know," 

It is known that the French team are looking towards the WorldTour in a couple of year's time, so maybe this would be a big step towards that.