"Not actually do anything to help you be a good cyclist" - Michael Storer bashes rudimentary process at Groupama-FDJ

Michael Storer won the Tour of the Alps, finished Top10 at the Giro d'Italia and was on the podium of Il Lombardia with Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel at this year's Il Lombardia. This came as a result of him moving to the ProTeam-level Tudor Pro Cycling Team, who invest in him as a leader. Unlike Groupama - FDJ, where he already had a very high level, but claims the team did little to actually help him become a better cyclist.

Storer turned pro with Team Sunweb, currently called Team Picnic PostNL, back in 2018. After four years with the Dutch team, he went out of his comfort zone and signed a two-year deal with Groupama-FDJ. It was a risky move, towards a team with a very strong French focus and language, but it was one where he had the quality to become a leader and find more freedom for himself.

In his last year with Picnic PostNL he won the Tour de l'Ain and two stages at the Vuelta a España as well as the KOM classification. His potential was clear. But somehow, it was not seized by Groupama. He rode a Tour de France and Vuelta a España but without notable results; whilst his GC win at the Tour de l'Ain in 2023 proved to be the highlight. But by that time he already wanted to leave the team. Rarely does a rider so openly critical of a former team in public.

"You have to look into it to realize that it's actually a step up (his then signing for Tudor, ed.) because Groupama doesn't have the best support structure. They're sort of stuck in their ways," Storer shared in the Domestique Hotseat podcast. "That's not going to change. Even if I say it in a podcast, they're not going to listen."

The team has for several years been termed as traditional in its methods of training, whilst now-retired manager Marc Madiot was often in the media criticizing modern aspects of the sport. Whilst at times logical, it seemed like a pattern that the team would have a few details slip through the cracks. Storer doesn't talk specifically about what they were, but provides further detail into his experience with the team, seemingly not attached to it in any way anymore as he discussed it without issue.

"I wanted to go to a team that actually cared about making me good, actually give me some real support," he exclaimed. "Cause like they'll say that they're going to help you and whatnot, but then they kind of just expect you to be good, but not actually do anything to help you be a good cyclist." This comes as very harsh criticism from the Australian, who looks to have good reason behind these words, as his move to Tudor saw him exponentially improve on the bike.

"In Tudor like, I'm pretty much their main guy. And so they're throwing a lot of resources behind me to help me reach my potential. Whilst if I went to one of those teams like Groupama , they supported like two guys with their resources, I'd say maybe three."

Rudimentary training methods at the top of pro cycling are not yet a thing of the past, and still to this day a few execute certain details in a very basic manner. Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's Arne Marit recently described how Intermarché - Wanty, during their 2024 winter training camp, seemingly gave all riders the same training schedule instead of working with the riders individually. Matteo Jorgenson also famously left for Team Visma | Lease a Bike after he himself was paying for his own individual training camps whilst racing with Movistar, and his evolution was also exponential.

The 28-year old Storer further pushes forward the idea that some teams will not pay much attention to their riders unless they are the big leaders, and that would be the case in Groupama. "That can be the problem with the big teams. You go there and you're definitely probably not going to be their number one guy who they throw their resources behind. You're going to maybe be number three, number four. You're like an afterthought."