Valentin Madouas has in the past finished on the podium of both the
Tour of Flanders and
Strade Bianche and those remain big goals for him in 2024. Alongside the
Olympic Games, the Groupama-FDJ looks to perform this coming season in the races where he hasn't won yet.
"It is, of course. I was consistent all season, from the Strade Bianche to Montreal," Madouas replied on whether this was his best season to date, in a press release issued by the French team. "Also, with the French championship and the Bretagne Classic, I not only fulfilled two season goals, but most importantly two career goals. It’s therefore very positive from that point of view. I would obviously have liked to win more, and I think I had the possibility to do so in certain races, but circumstances meant that it didn’t happen. That said, two great victories like these ones are well worth five or ten smaller victories. I would have liked to raise my arms a little more, but we’ll keep that for the next few years."
It was a strong season, but not a perfect one for the 27-year old. He didn't manage to follow up on his potential in the stage-races where he's also performed in the past - although he stressed that these were not his biggest goals. "I’m a bit disappointed with the stage races. I haven’t been performing as well as I did in recent years. Why? It’s hard to say. I was not lucky. I often suffered an issue, an allergy, an illness, except on the Tour de France."
"We improve year after year. We had a solid, united team this year. It’s now up to Stefan [Küng] and myself to give it a boost, so that it gets even stronger and more homogeneous, and so that we can ride at a very high level all together," he says, as he is set to lead the team once again in the spring classics. "If we want to have control over our destiny, it’s up to us to try things and not be afraid of losing races to win them. These are fine words, and it is easier said than done, because we are facing very strong teams such as Ineos Grenadiers, Jumbo-Visma or Soudal-Quick Step. But I think we can be right behind them."
Madouas will be a very important piece of the team's plan, also being one of it's top UCI point scorers. Although the team has not yet fit the pieces of the puzzle together, it is rather clear what he will be doing over the coming months.
"I won’t have the program until December, but I roughly know what I want. I have goals, and I have things in my mind. Everything will depend a lot on my possible selection for the Olympic Games... The start of the season will remain the same. I dream of winning the Tour of Flanders and it will be my big appointment in the spring, together with the Strade Bianche. These races are made for me, and I hope to win them one day."
