"Joining Groupama - FDJ will allow me to give my career a new lease of life" - Guillaume Martin looks towards a fresh start in his new team
Cycling
Guillaume Martin had once again a decent year, with a lot of racing and several results of honor... but once without a victory, nor any stand out performance to write home about. Thus, the current Cofidis rider will seek new motivation with a move over to another French WT team: Groupama - FDJ.
"I think it's still important to work over time with the teams you're in," Martin tells about his reasons to change colours at Cyclism'Actu. "So there you go, you said, 4 years at Wanty, 5 years at Cofidis, so I'm still a pretty loyal rider. But at some point, I think it's also important to have something new to give me a little boost. And I'm pretty convinced that changing teams this year and joining Groupama - FDJ will allow me to give my career a new lease of life," he eyes the "fresh" start in the team where he briefly raced before - in 2014 as a stagiare.
The main memory of the 2024 season was the dominance of Tadej Pogacar, winner of, well, pretty much any race he lined up to with ambition of winning. Guillaume Martin was present to many of the Slovenian's victories and he, too, confirms the overwhelming impression. "I think it's quite obvious, it's obvious to everyone, whether you're in the peloton or watching the races on TV."
But there's also another issue that was talked about a lot this year, just like the year before, and quite frankly not much was done about it, Martin highlights: "I think there's also the theme of safety, which has been much talked about again this year, a bit like in previous seasons. There were obviously the impressive falls at the Itzulia Basque Country, the Dauphiné and many others. I have a teammate, Nicolas Debeaumarché, who fell at the Tour de Pologne. It was a pretty heavy fall. I think that's really a subject that we have to continue to work on, continue to look for solutions because it's not possible to risk our lives doing our sport, our passion."
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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