Guillaume Martin backs down from criticism of Cofidis' bikes: "A controversy that seems a little disproportionate"

Weight is key in cycling and specially for the climbers. Guillaume Martin finished the Tour de France just outside of the Top10 and on stage 19 he had to ride for ages by himself down a descent that would cost him a lot of time. He had claimed that with a lighter bike he could've been able to finish the Tour better, but he now backs down from the initial criticism of his equipment.

Following the Tour de France, in words to Le Monde, Martin admitted that he was not using a bike computer because he was already quite disappointed with the high weight of the bike, and that this made him lose key time on stages and possibly the Top10. "Our bikes weigh 7.7 kilograms, 1 kilo more than the UCI's permitted weight. I do not want to make my bike even heavier with a bike computer and meter, which also weigh 200 grams."

The team itself responded to Martin's comments, defending the bike sponsors from the bad publicity that came out of it. "We have also won several victories in the 2023 Tour de France, the 2023 Vuelta and the 2024 Giro with this same bike and have just finished once again with the highest-ranked French rider overall in this 2024 edition of the Tour de France".

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The Frenchman is expected to leave the team at the end of the season and thus it did not come as a big surprise that he launched relatively harsh words at the equipment he used during the Tour, and was clearly disappointed with it. But in an Instagram post now, he turns back and assures his confidence on the equipment that he has been riding for the past few years mostly featuring the LOOK bikes. "For a few days now, a controversy that seems a little disproportionate to me has been taking place around my equipment."

"To clarify things, my bike was weighed by the UCI at the finish of the Lioran stage (stage 11, ed.) in a configuration that was not optimal in terms of lightness, weight being only one component of performance alongside rigidity, aerodynamics, solidity, handling, etc. Through the joint work of the team mechanics, the Cofidis performance unit and our partners, it was easily possible to lower this value to 7kg23," he explains. "I am therefore taking advantage of this post to reaffirm my confidence in the team's various material sponsors, in order to allow me to achieve my goals."

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