<\/p>\n
Asked about their continued bad luck, Madiot didn\u2019t deny the
\nimpact of misfortune. \u201cWe agree. Especially since yesterday, we suffered a
\ncrash while we were fighting to win the stage, so it’s frustrating,
\ndisappointing, but that’s racing.\u201d Groupama \u2013 FDJ\u2019s Saturday ambitions were
\nderailed in the final kilometers, a moment that perfectly embodies the tension
\nand risk between potential and outcome that has haunted their Tour efforts in
\nrecent years.<\/p>\n
So what was the team missing this time around?<\/p>\n
\u201cA bit of luck, especially yesterday (Saturday). But on the
\ndecisive stages, we had Romain Gr\u00e9goire. He’s still developing; he’s 22 years
\nold. When you’re up against Pogacar or Van der Poel, he’s still missing a
\nlittle bit of a step. But he’s getting there, progressing. We have to stay the
\ncourse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gr\u00e9goire\u2019s emergence has been one of the few bright spots
\nfor Groupama\u2013FDJ. While still raw, the young rider has been given
\nresponsibility in high-pressure situations. But at this level, the gaps in
\nclass and experience still show. For Madiot, the task now is ensuring those
\ngaps close in time.<\/p>\n
As for the race itself, Madiot took a balanced view. \u201cI saw
\ntwo weeks of the Tour that were attractive, punchy, sexy, and exciting. The
\nlast week was more about control and moderation, but that was logical given the
\nstandings. It’s not an exceptional vintage, but a good one. It could have been
\nif the intensity had lasted the entire last week. But you can’t ask the
\nimpossible of the riders, and it’s better that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Madiot, who has never been one to shy away from direct
\ncommentary on cycling\u2019s direction, also offered a few words on the Tour\u2019s final
\nday and Wout van Aert\u2019s victory in Paris. The Belgian incredibly dropped
\nPogacar, the first man to do so in this year\u2019s Tour, on the final ascent of the
\nMontmartre.<\/p>\n
\u201cWout van Aert. I have great admiration for this rider. He
\nis in constant opposition to Van der Poel, who succeeds in everything. He was
\nable to rebuild himself, to redevelop, to return to the fight; he is coming
\nback from difficult times. And that he wins today on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es, with
\nthis rather special stage, is a sign of destiny. I am in awe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Montrmartre climb was used for the first time in the
\nTour, after initially being used during the Olympics last year. Madiot didn\u2019t
\nentirely approve of the format of the stage, though. \u201cThere was a little
\n\u2018circus\u2019 side that I don’t like, but also the victory of what cycling is
\nintrinsically: self-denial, determination, experience, commitment. And what we
\nexperienced today (Sunday) with Wout Van Aert is something to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s one thread running through all of Madiot\u2019s
\nremarks, it\u2019s (as always) realism. Cycling is unpredictable. Preparation
\nmatters, but so does circumstance. \u201cThe result of the Tour depends on us, but
\nnot only on us. There are the circumstances of the race and adversity. We have
\nto remain objective, whether things go well or not, and find balance.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Tadej Pogacar capturing his fourth Tour title,
\nspeculation has naturally turned toward whether the Slovenian will join, or
\neven surpass, the exclusive club of five-time winners. Madiot isn\u2019t rushing to
\ncrown him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the current situation, we’d like to say yes, it’s
\ngoing to be easy and simple to achieve. But beware of time, habit, and
\nrelaxation. Nothing is a given. Remember, in the past, many victories were
\npredicted for certain riders: Jan Ullrich, who was predicted to win several
\ntimes, only won one. So: observation and prudence are the right words.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cautious optimism defines Madiot\u2019s view, both of the sport
\nand his team. As Groupama \u2013 FDJ approaches its seventh Tour since last standing
\non a stage podium, the pressure to deliver grows, especially in the French
\npress. But for now, the focus remains on staying the course and developing the
\nnext wave of talent.<\/p>\n
When will the long game pay off?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Asked about their continued bad luck, Madiot didn\u2019t deny the impact of misfortune. \u201cWe agree. Especially since…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85],"class_list":["post-30313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}