Controversial call to "privatise" 2026 Tour de France on Alpe d’Huez: “Let’s charge admission, have VIPs, and create something to make money!”

Even before the peloton heads back to the slopes of Alpe d’Huez twice during the 2026 Tour de France, the iconic climb is already at the centre of a fierce debate about cycling’s future. Former B&B Hotels manager Jerôme Pineau has reignited the long-running question of how the sport should fund itself — and he has gone straight for the sport’s most sacred cow: free roadside access.

Speaking on RMC Sport’s Grand Plateau podcast, Pineau floated the idea of charging spectators on the upper slopes of the Alpe, arguing that the sport must evolve financially if teams are to survive the growing economic divide.

“I’m going to shock some people, but they’ve created a stage that will go up Alpe d’Huez twice. So let’s privatise the last five kilometres of Alpe d’Huez," he proposes somewhat controversially. "Let’s charge admission, let’s have VIPs, let’s create something to make money!”

Pineau framed the proposal not as a luxury initiative, but as a lifeline for privately backed squads competing against state-funded giants. “Historically, cycling is a popular sport, a free sport. But a free sport where there are no more riders on the road because there are only two teams, Bahrain and UAE, is less fun, isn’t it?”

Groupama - FDJ boss Marc Madiot firmly rejected the idea, insisting that the sport’s open-door character is intrinsic to its identity. “I’m in favour of free access; we’re the last major sport that’s free. It’s one of our strengths. And we have to be realistic; we won’t solve our problems by offering more hospitality.”

Madiot also raised a structural concern often overlooked in surface-level funding debates — the financial imbalance created by differing employment and tax systems across Europe. French teams, he stressed, operate under far heavier employment obligations than some rivals. “Why not consider having all teams legally based in Switzerland to ensure a uniform social cost?”

His broader warning painted a picture of a sport drifting away from its roots. “Apart from the emirs and state sponsors, it’s difficult to exist in the peloton these days. The problem with cycling is that it used to be a popular sport, for workers and farmers, and now it’s becoming a sport for the rich.”

Every off-season brings talk of structural reform, but Pineau and Madiot's exchange speaks to a deepening divide. With state-funded superteams reshaping the WorldTour and private sponsors increasingly thin on the ground, the sport’s fundamental question remains unresolved:

Can cycling protect its heritage of free access while creating a sustainable financial model for the future?

For now, one thing is certain — the conversation isn’t going away, and Alpe d’Huez has suddenly become a testing ground not only for legs, but for tradition, economics, and the very soul of the sport.