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"It is no longer bike racing in its raw form" - Marc Madiot totally opposed to idea of Grand Tour substitutions
CyclingSaturday, 17 February 2024 at 22:00
Movistar Team boss, Eusebio Unzue sent the cycling world into a frenzy recently with his proposed idea of introducing substitutions for riders who crash in the first week of a Grand Tour.
"We are thinking about the future of the sport, and we are among those holding meetings. Cycling is the most immobile sport at the moment, we continue to do things as we did forty years ago, when I arrived. We have to humanize the rules. Stop being so crude, so excessively inhuman," said Unzue to L'Equipe. "Why not allow substitutes when a rider is forced to abandon a Grand Tour during the first week?"
Whilst many have had differing opinions on this matter, our own CyclingUpToDate audience voting considerably against it by 67% to 33% in a poll, Groupama - FDJ boss, Marc Madiot believes the idea could ruin the sport not benefit it.
"I am against it. At that moment, we play on the PlayStation or on the computer, but it is no longer bike racing in its raw form," says the Frenchman to Eurosport. "In cycling, there is a starting point, an ending point, and everyone gives their best to win. If we start to bring guys in in the middle of the race, we are no longer in our history, in our DNA. And that’s not good."
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