"We're forging our own path " – Marc Madiot reflects on winless Tour de France for Groupama - FDJ
Cycling
Groupama – FDJ have now gone six full Tours de France
without a single stage win. With the 2025 edition wrapped, that drought will
stretch into a seventh year. Not since 2019 has the French team claimed a stage
win, and once again, this summer ended in frustration. But team boss Marc
Madiot, never short of opinion, isn’t pressing the panic button just yet.
“When you finish fourth in the Tour with Gaudu or ninth,
those are still interesting results,” Madiot told Cyclism’Actu after the race.
“It's a bit easy and reductive to sum up our Tour as zero stage wins since
2019.”
For a team with rich Tour history, the recent results can
feel like stagnation. Yet Madiot is keen to steer the conversation away from
pure stage wins and toward broader progress and development. “I don't say
anything. We're forging our own path, building, developing, and trying to be as
efficient as possible with our resources.”
Asked about their continued bad luck, Madiot didn’t deny the
impact of misfortune. “We agree. Especially since yesterday, we suffered a
crash while we were fighting to win the stage, so it's frustrating,
disappointing, but that's racing.” Groupama – FDJ’s Saturday ambitions were
derailed in the final kilometers, a moment that perfectly embodies the tension
and risk between potential and outcome that has haunted their Tour efforts in
recent years.
So what was the team missing this time around?
“A bit of luck, especially yesterday (Saturday). But on the
decisive stages, we had Romain Grégoire. He's still developing; he's 22 years
old. When you're up against Pogacar or Van der Poel, he's still missing a
little bit of a step. But he's getting there, progressing. We have to stay the
course.”
Grégoire’s emergence has been one of the few bright spots
for Groupama–FDJ. While still raw, the young rider has been given
responsibility in high-pressure situations. But at this level, the gaps in
class and experience still show. For Madiot, the task now is ensuring those
gaps close in time.
As for the race itself, Madiot took a balanced view. “I saw
two weeks of the Tour that were attractive, punchy, sexy, and exciting. The
last week was more about control and moderation, but that was logical given the
standings. It's not an exceptional vintage, but a good one. It could have been
if the intensity had lasted the entire last week. But you can't ask the
impossible of the riders, and it's better that way.”
Read also
Madiot, who has never been one to shy away from direct
commentary on cycling’s direction, also offered a few words on the Tour’s final
day and Wout van Aert’s victory in Paris. The Belgian incredibly dropped
Pogacar, the first man to do so in this year’s Tour, on the final ascent of the
Montmartre.
“Wout van Aert. I have great admiration for this rider. He
is in constant opposition to Van der Poel, who succeeds in everything. He was
able to rebuild himself, to redevelop, to return to the fight; he is coming
back from difficult times. And that he wins today on the Champs-Élysées, with
this rather special stage, is a sign of destiny. I am in awe.”
The Montrmartre climb was used for the first time in the
Tour, after initially being used during the Olympics last year. Madiot didn’t
entirely approve of the format of the stage, though. “There was a little
‘circus’ side that I don't like, but also the victory of what cycling is
intrinsically: self-denial, determination, experience, commitment. And what we
experienced today (Sunday) with Wout Van Aert is something to think about.”
If there’s one thread running through all of Madiot’s
remarks, it’s (as always) realism. Cycling is unpredictable. Preparation
matters, but so does circumstance. “The result of the Tour depends on us, but
not only on us. There are the circumstances of the race and adversity. We have
to remain objective, whether things go well or not, and find balance.”
With Tadej Pogacar capturing his fourth Tour title,
speculation has naturally turned toward whether the Slovenian will join, or
even surpass, the exclusive club of five-time winners. Madiot isn’t rushing to
crown him.
“Based on the current situation, we'd like to say yes, it's
going to be easy and simple to achieve. But beware of time, habit, and
relaxation. Nothing is a given. Remember, in the past, many victories were
predicted for certain riders: Jan Ullrich, who was predicted to win several
times, only won one. So: observation and prudence are the right words.”
Cautious optimism defines Madiot’s view, both of the sport
and his team. As Groupama – FDJ approaches its seventh Tour since last standing
on a stage podium, the pressure to deliver grows, especially in the French
press. But for now, the focus remains on staying the course and developing the
next wave of talent.
When will the long game pay off?
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
2 Comments