"The big downside is not being able to raise your arms" - Guillaume Martin regrets lack of wins in 2023 despite positive performances

Although he recently picked up a literary award for his book, 'La Société du Peloton', Guillaume Martin was unable to reward his positive performances in 2023 with a victory on the bike.

"It was an honour and a special moment, and it allows me to end the year with at least one success, even if it's not on the bike! But I'm not yet an academician, I'm still a cyclist," Martin reflects on his literary triumph and his year as a whole, in conversation with Cyclism'Actu. "I intend to get back on the path to victory while maintaining this consistency which is my trademark."

Arguably Martin's most notable performances this year came at the Tour de France, finishing 10th in the general classification. "I'm happy with my year 2023 despite everything, but obviously, when you do sport and cycling, it's also to win," he admits. "So the big downside is not being able to raise your arms. For that, it's been a full season."

Although teammate Bryan Coquard has previously declared his belief that Martin could mount a serious GC challenge at the 2024 Tour de France given the route and profile suiting him, the Cofidis leader refuses to be drawn into making any such claims of his own.

"The Tour de France is obviously the most important moment of the year. But it's still a little early to talk about the program and the calendar, we're only at the December training camp, we don't have everything still defined," he explains. "In any case, the idea is to do two Grand Tours again, probably Tour de France and then the Vuelta a Espana. The Paris Olympics, I'm afraid the circuit won't be hard enough for me I have more in mind the Worlds in Zurich, where the course will be much more difficult."