"We'll soon be doing half of the Tour de France abroad..." - Marc Madiot concerned with Tour becoming too foreign

In 2026, Tour de France will take off from Barcelona while the very next edition's Grand Départ is set to take place in the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh. By that time, less than a half of Tour de Frances of this decade would've started in its home country, Groupama - FDJ team manager Marc Madiot notices.

"We're in the Tour de France. Starting from abroad from time to time seems normal and economically essential to me. But for it to become so recurrent seems far too much," he protested this Sunday on RMC's Les Grandes Gueules du Sport. Madiot is clearly in anticipation of the Grand Départ in Lille this summer.

Organizers shouldn't be trying to trade the name of Grande Boucle just for a bit of extra pocket money, he calls. "The event is called the Tour de France! I know it's not always easy to get the financial compensation we hope for in each edition. But I think we have to be reasonable and not just look at the financial side. We need to have a Tour de France in France. If we continue like this, we'll soon be doing half of the Tour de France abroad..." lamented Marc Madiot on RMC.

As a manager of French formation, preparing for Grand Départ outside of the country is an extra organizational hassle for Madiot. And obviously, it also takes away the joy of witnessing the first kilometers and team presentations away from French crowds. Madiot believes that ASO has been forgetting where are the race's roots.

"The Tour de France is the Tour de France, it's a jewel of our nation. I don't see why we would spend our time competing in foreign countries. We don't get any additional compensation when it starts abroad. It costs us more. We don't get paid anything for it. Zero, not a cent," he concluded.