"In France we can be a bit hypocritical. We’re always nitpicking" - Guillaume Martin criticises pressure put on home talents at Tour de France

As the wait for a new French winner of the Tour de France goes on, Guillaume Martin is urging his nation's media to stop putting so much pressure on the young, Maillot Jaune hopefuls in the peloton.

Not since the legendary Bernard Hinault back in 1985 has a Frenchman stood atop the final podium at the Tour de France in the Maillot Jaune. With this year's edition marking a 40th anniversary, and no French talents likely to compete against the likes of Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic in 2025, it could be Groupama - FDJ's Guillaume Martin who emerges as the best general classification finisher of the home crop of riders.

“People often ask whether I’m targeting stage wins or the general classification. With the experience I have, it’s often your body that makes the decision for you — and perhaps even more so this year, given how tricky that first week looks. But it’s not in my nature to give up time willingly," says Martin ahead of the Tour, in quotes collected by L'Equipe. "I think things will become clearer quite quickly, depending on my true condition and how the race unfolds. Since the start of the year, I’ve felt really good within the team, and that’s shown both in some of the results, and in how I’ve felt overall. I think I’m going into this Tour in good shape.”

With no David Gaudu in the lineup for Groupama - FDJ this time around, all of the GC hopes of the French team rest on the shoulders of the two time top-10 finisher Martin. As mentioned however, 32-year-old himself isn't convinced the extra scrutiny and pressures put onto French riders by the media aren't helping them succeed.

“Of course it’s better to win a stage than to come 15th overall — that’s obvious, isn’t it? But I think in France we can be a bit hypocritical. We’re always nitpicking," he explains. "We complain that there hasn’t been a French winner of the Tour in forty years, and at the same time, we mock the riders who try."

"I know what I’m capable of — I’m not here to win the Tour. I’ll likely end up around the same level I have in the past. But I think about the young talents coming through in the French peloton — you have to be able to finish 10th, 8th, 7th before you can start thinking about winning," he concludes. "You have to know how to handle it, in this race. In France, we need to start recognising the value of that again, if we ever want to see a French winner of the Tour. It’s too easy to hope for that and at the same time say we should only be aiming for stage wins.”