Groupama - FDJ rider and former French champion optimistic ahead of 2025: "It is a real team this year"

Valentin Madouas, the 28-year-old rider for Groupama -FDJ and 2023 French road race champion, recently shared his aspirations for the 2025 season in an interview with Cyclism Actu. With a revamped team and a packed schedule, Madouas expressed his optimism about the upcoming year.

“It is a real team this year, very close-knit, a collective that is perhaps even more homogeneous than in recent years. I find it stronger, at least on paper, for me it is,” Madouas said, highlighting the strength of the roster. “Also I think that we have toughened up with experienced riders like Rémi (Cavagna), like Guillaume (Martin), but also with youngsters who have passion, desire. I am obviously thinking of Tom, Brieuc also who have turned pro. I am certainly forgetting some, but these are riders who will be able to energize our team even more and go for some very, very good results. I think that we will be really efficient on all types of terrain, in almost all the races and it will be a very good year.”

Madouas also provided insight into his winter training, which began in Tenerife on 2nd December. “I've been in Tenerife since December 2nd, I made a quick trip to Paris for the presentation but I'm going back there tomorrow to be able to continue until the 15th and then I'm going back to Calpe afterwards to prepare until the end of January almost. Spending a month in the sun, doing some altitude, also working a little bit on my own, it does me good. I like it so I can be where I want to be when I want. Then finish with the team training camp which will boost me and allow me to work on fatigue to be able to recover well before the races.”

Looking ahead to his racing calendar, Madouas outlined a clear focus on the Classics and the Tour de France. “I'm going to start at the Tour of Oman before racing in France with the Faun Drome Ardèche then after Strade Bianche, Tirreno... a classic program until the Classics to then continue normally with the Boucles de l'Aulne, Tro Bro-Léon and then a recovery before the preparation for the Tour de France,” he explained.

When asked about the possibility of another Grand Tour, Madouas admitted that nothing was set in stone. “Another Grand Tour? I don't know yet, in any case it won't be the Giro, David has a real team around him to help him. I'm expected on the Classics, it will necessarily be, in any case, I hope the Tour and after the Vuelta, it will be according to how the Tour goes, how the start of the season goes. There are always lots of changes for the Grand Tours so the goal already is to focus on the Classics, on the Tour de France and after why not the Vuelta or other classics, these are the races that suit me very well at this time of the season so I don't set myself any limits for that.”