Marc Madiot rarely keeps his tongue in his pocket and proved it again in an interview with The Team released this Tuesday. The historical boss of the Groupama-FDJ mentioned the departure of Patrick Lefevere but also the current state of the professional peloton, which he considers worrying. “OWe know very well that in France, we are not in a position to be competitive with a certain number of teams.”declared Madiot during an interview with Cyclism’Actu in September, four months later, the Frenchman’s speech remains similar.
Video – Our interview with Marc Madiot in September
“These sponsors or states… They want to make money like in football”
Asked about Lefevere, Madiot evokes the end of an era, those of small grocers. “The model is going to change. We were small grocers, Lefevere, me or others, and it’s the end of an era. It could be a disaster, but today we’re moving towards 5-6 groups, there is no longer any point in calling them “teams”, which have a budget of 50 million (euros). In France, we have a model where with the sponsor, if he puts in ten million, he hopes to make a little more in return on image investment, which is logical. But these sponsors or these states, they want to make money like in football. Whereas we were more on a balance model. This will definitely influence the future. Maybe tomorrow there will only be two or three races in France. Are we ready for this? Is that what we want?”he questions.
“There, it’s not at all a criticism, I see Van der Poel arriving at the cross country in Belgium with his Lamborghini, who goes to Besançon with a private jet, who takes 50,000 euros per race. Good for him , but I tell myself that Cycling is changing worlds and times when we see that Red Bull already has participations in two teams (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe and Tudor Pro Cycling).that they are in several football clubs, in Formula 1, in the boat, everywhere… INEOS, same thing. I think that 2025-2026, we are entering a big shift”he added.
“I wouldn’t want what was once doping to be called hyper-professionalization today.”
Marc Madiot is concerned about the arrival of these new sponsors and their ethics. “I still have apprehensions. Because these people come with other experiences, in other environments, sporting or economic, and I fear for the ethical balance of cycling, in all areas. In all areas. (He insists.) JI’m afraid that in this transformation, which is inevitable, we no longer have that in mind, that we are no longer in the realm of marginal gains, in excessive professionalization. I wouldn’t want what was once doping to be called hyper-professionalization today without us realizing it.”he explains.
“In this system, we will no longer accept losing. Whereas until now, in cycling, we accepted being beaten. It might sound like an old fool to say that, but it’s a huge danger. I think there are things to be done, now where is the will and who will dictate it? That’s the problem. We are both in a zone of progress and a zone of risk. Let’s go back to the carbon monoxide story, we’re in it. We’re going to wrap this up so it’s not doping, but still…” conclu Marc Madiot.
