"We cleared the air": French rider reveals internal conflict at Groupama - FDJ during difficult 2025
Cycling
Groupama - FDJ is beginning a new chapter. With the legendary Marc Madiot stepping down and Thierry Cornec taking over as General Manager, the team is undergoing a significant cultural shift. After narrowly avoiding the relegation zone last year, the team is now openly prioritizing the UCI points system.
A new beginning after struggling in 2025
The 2026 season marks year one of the new UCI promotion/relegation cycle, and Groupama - FDJ is determined not to repeat the mistakes of the previous triennium. The decline was actually huge: they fell from a comfortable 7th in the world rankings in 2023, to 10th in 2024, before plummeting to 18th last season.
One of the few bright spots was Romain Grégoire, who had a breakout season with six victories. However, the rest of the the team's established leaders struggled. Valentin Madouas, the former French champion, was blunt about the team's underperformance.
"Romain saved things a little, but leaders like David Gaudu, Paul Penhoët or myself did not get the results we should have had," he said in quotes gathered by Domestique. Surprisingly, Madouas claimed his physical condition was not the issue. "Yet I had the best physical values of my life."
Instead, he pointed to organizational problems behind the scenes. "With the staff, there were lots of misunderstandings between the different departments: training, medical, the sports directors," Madouas revealed. "After the Tour de France, we cleared the air. That did a huge amount of good for everyone. We are starting again with a completely different dynamic."
The Groupama - FDJ riders wants to avoid the same problems they had last year
Strength in numbers
To fix these issues, the team has restructured its staff and signed several new pieces. Madouas highlighted the arrival of riders such as Ewen Costiou (from Arkéa), Clément Berthet (who is set to lead the team at the Giro d'Italia), and Bastien Tronchon (who will target the Flemish classics).
"The team has structured itself, mainly in the staff, and added depth in riders," Madouas noted, calling them "great signings."
"We are not going to beat a Pogacar or a Van der Poel on pure power, but we can do it by anticipating with a group of three or four riders. This consistency can allow us to challenge them and also get as many top fives as possible. Because the goal will also be to score."
Félix SernaCycling Journalist
Félix Serna is a writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2025. He covers professional cycling across both the men’s and women’s calendars, with a focus on UCI rankings, race developments, and rider performance. His work includes interview-based reports, liveblogs, and tournament coverage designed to provide clear, accurate context throughout the season.
In his reporting, Félix regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical reference. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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