? Same team. Same passion. Same jersey (or almost)
FDJ becomes FDJ United, and comes to wear its new logo on our jersey. Districlos joins us as an official partner, and will dress the threshold of our runners #GroupamaFDJ @fdj_united @Districlos pic.twitter.com/lULm7ghAlP
-Groupama-FDJ cycling team (@Groupamafdj) June 27, 2025
Marc Madiot's interview (June 23)
A few days before the big departure of Tour de Francethe time is up to the balance sheet and projection for the peloton teams. General manager of the Groupama-FDJ, Marc Madiot come back for Cyclism’Actu on the lessons learned from Switzerland Tour one you Dauphiné criteriumwith the notable performance of Guillaume Martin and above all Romain Grégoire. He also evokes the ambitions of his team for French Championshipsthe uncertainties around the selection for The Grande Boucleand delivers his clear look at the current hierarchy between the favorites of Tour. An interview without wooden tongue, faithful to the trademark of the boss of the Groupama-FDJ.
Find the entire interview here
“Romain Grégoire goes well the bumps, he is a puncture, but he is not a climber”
The Tour of Switzerland has just ended. Your Roman runner Grégoire won a great stage victory from the first day and wore the yellow jersey. What assessment do you draw from this race and Romain's performance?
Romain did a good tour of Switzerland. He reached his initial goal, which was to win a stage. He did it from the first day, in difficult conditions, showing a lot of determination. Then he wore the yellow jersey for several days, which was a small bonus. This allowed him to play the leading roles on several stages. The team was up to par. I also highlight the great performances of Lewis Askey, who won two podiums in massive sprints. Overall, the balance sheet is rather positive.
Precisely, after these first days in yellow, Romain gave in the big steps. Was it something expected?
When you face stages with 4000 meters of elevation, you are clearly in the high mountains. Romain goes well the bumps, he is a puncture, but he is not a climber capable of chaining the big climbs several days in a row. We knew it would be complicated, but he fought well. Everything he has accomplished on this week will allow him to be very operational for the championship and especially for the Tour de France.
We sometimes compare him to a runner like Kévin Vauquelin, who follows a similar trajectory, even if he has a few more years. Are it their physical qualities that make the difference and allow Vauquelin to finish second in the Tour de Switzerland?
Vauquelin is a little older, with more experience and lived at the World Tour level. He is also a better climber on long climbs, and he had time to work this. Today it reaches a form of maturity where Roman is still in the development phase. He is very young, he has potential, but it must be kept in a scheme that suits him: puncture, sprinter, bumpsman. It is in this register that he will be able to express themselves in the second part of his career.
“Vingegaard, he still misses a little something to compete with Pogacar”
The previous week there was the Critérium du Dauphiné. This time, no stage victory for your team, but Guillaume Martin won a top 10. Was it the expected result on his part?
Guillaume is a very good runner in stages. He won over time and wear of the peloton. He perfectly met our expectations on this Dauphiné week. He may not be a very spectacular runner at first, but he is catchy, mentally very strong. He never lets go. I am sure, he will bring us great satisfactions on the Tour de France.
Of course, all the light on this runner -up was turned on the Battle of the favorites of the Tour de France. Finally, the hierarchy seemed very marked: Pogacar crushed Vingegaard, who himself crushed the rest of the peloton. What do you remember from this confrontation between the great leaders?
We see that Pogacar is at its best level, especially in the mountains. There may be some details to adjust on the time, but overall, it has been very strong since the start of the season. Vingegaard seemed to me in shape, but he still lacks a little something to compete with Pogacar on the whole line. There is clearly a gap between them and the rest, even if Evenepoel is also at an excellent level. Last year's hierarchy seems to be confirmed.
According to bookmakers, there is a huge gap between Pogacar and other favorites. Do you share this vision of a huge favorite?
I have not seen the coasts, but if we trust what we have observed, there is no need to be a great specialist to say that Pogacar is the number one favorite. But you always have to be wary. The tour is three weeks with a lot of pitfalls: the mountain, the times, the traps, the wind, the management of the peloton … There are many parameters that we try to control, but that we never control 100 %. There are always the vagaries of the race. So everything remains open, even if on paper, Pogacar checks more boxes than the others.
“A GAUDU at its best level …”
Regarding your team for the Tour, what will be the ambitions? We know that Guillaume Martin, David Gaudu, Romain Grégoire or Valentin Madouas should be present. What will be the Groupama-FDJ objectives over the three weeks?
Like many teams from the “soft belly” of the World Tour peloton, our main objective is to win a stage victory. Then, be as close as possible to the best, especially with Guillaume Martin. We have a good, homogeneous team, and we hope to obtain great results, in the continuity of what we showed the Tour of Switzerland. By combining the teachings of the Dauphiné and the Tour of Switzerland, we should be well armed.
You mentioned Guillaume Martin for the general classification. What about David Gaudu? Will it be at the start of the Tour, and with what ambitions?
We are not there yet. We will take stock of the French championship. A Gaudu at its best level can play in the same spheres as Guillaume. We will see how he feels physically in the coming days, and we will draw the conclusions.
So, the selection for the Tour de France is not yet finalized? Are you waiting for the national championships?
Yes, some ideas are starting to emerge, but it is still too early to talk about it.
“We always hope to bring at least one jersey of the French championships”
Precisely, the French championships are approaching, first with the time trial, then the online race. Last year, you won none of the two. What is the goal this year?
When we go to the French championships, we always hope to bring back at least a jersey. The time trial counts, but it is above all the online race which is the flagship of the weekend. It is a race that all the teams want to win, at least from time to time, if not as often as possible. The objective is therefore clear: to become champion of France on Sunday. And if we can also do it on the time, as we have already done in the past, it would be perfect.
What will be your master cards on this race? Do we expect a very tactical race or a “pedal” race, as during the coronation of Valentin Madouas two years ago?
We will first have to see the course, which we do not yet know in detail. We will visualize it this weekend. The weather conditions announced, with hot weather, will also have their importance. All these combined elements should give rise to a beautiful championship, but for the moment, it is difficult to designate a favorite within the team.
Last question before leaving you. We are at the end of June, in mid-season. What is your record at this stage for the Groupama-FDJ team?
The assessment is correct: there are nine victories, we have been performing on several races. But we all know that it is July that is decisive. Everything that happened before is interesting, but everything is put into play from July 1.
