"There is no point in calling them teams anymore, if they are investing €50 million" - Marc Madiot on cycling's extreme money surge in the 2020's

Cycling is a sport where the money present is increasing exponentially in recent years, good for the stability of some top teams but it increases the gaps significantly to the rest. Marc Madiot, manager of Groupama - FDJ, fears that this 'money splashing' is reaching an excessive level and worries about the sustainability.

Alongside this, he also worries about the increasing dangers for pro riders during races: "The riders are riding faster and faster on terrain that is precisely designed to slow down vehicles. It is even more dangerous on descents. And since many riders don't want to understand what's going on, there's only one solution: reduce the speed," Madiot said in words to L'Équipe, not distant from the proposal of Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme.

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Recently we have seen Mathieu van der Poel, who makes a big sum of money for starting fees at cyclocross races, arrive at a race in a €500.000 Lamborghini and into Sunday's Besançon World Cup he flew in a private jet, something unthinkable years ago. It is something else that Madiot was quick to point out, as one sign of how money is changing things in the sport, and that this will continue to happen.

"This isn't criticism at all, but I see Van der Poel arriving at a cyclocross with his Lamborghini and flying to Besançon in a private jet, for 50,000 euros per cross. Good for him, but the cycling world is changing. Red Bull is already in football, Formula 1 and in the boats, just like INEOS. Now they're here. I think we're going to see a big shift in 2025 and 2026".

It is "the end of an era" according to the veteran, the times are changing. "People like Patrick Lefevere and I are small grocers, but now we are going to five or six groups. There is no point in calling them teams anymore, if they are investing €50 million. In time, that might even be ten or fifteen groups. That will raise questions with sponsors, who will expect more in terms of image investment for ten million. They want to make money, while we have always been in a balance model. Are we ready for this as cycling? Do we want this?"

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