"It’s a Tour that I really like because there will be opportunities for breakaways" - Valentin Madouas looks forward to sterrate stage in Troyes
Cycling
Exceptional in 2022 alongside his leader David Gaudu, but a bit under the radar in 2023 with the French champion jersey on his back, Valentin Madouas hopes to take his revenge during the 2024 Tour de France. And what the Breton has seen this Wednesday during the presentation of the route of the 111th edition really pleased him, as he explained to the journalists present.
"It’s a Tour that I really like because there will be opportunities for breakaways, and therefore to go for a stage victory. I really like the Lioran stage and also that of Troyes with the white roads," specifies the man who finished second in the Strade Bianche last year behind Tom Pidcock and who has therefore already shown great abilities on unpaved roads.
Coming with a general classification objective during the last two editions with David Gaudu, will Groupama-FDJ try again for the general in 2024 with its Breton climber or will it leave carte blanche to all its riders, including Valentin Madouas?
"It will depend a lot on David obviously, but also on the other leaders of the team. We will also have to see what the objectives of the sponsors will be. We were waiting for the courses to get together and discuss that," explains Madouas who believes, that "it's another Tour for Jonas Vingegaard" and that "the Tour will not be raced during the last timetrial" given its difficulty for three weeks.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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