"We're forging our own path " – Marc Madiot reflects on winless Tour de France for Groupama - FDJ

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.”

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?