It is an annual meeting. At the start of January, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team takes stock of the past season and looks towards the year 2022. Of the 6 riders: Arnaud Démare, David Gaudu, Romain Grégoire, Stefan Küng, Valentin Madouas and Thibaut Pinot; two are from Brittany, and both are even Finistériens. David Gaudu was born in Landivisiau, while Valentin Madouas was born in Brest. And the Breton duo intends to shine this year.
Linking performance and pleasure for David Gaudu
David Gaudu looks back on the year 2021 with a smile: “It was my best season with the pros. I joined the world top 20 and I want to continue to perform to the maximum “, comments the young cyclist.
He is now installed among the best climbers in the world and he will undoubtedly be one of the most anticipated riders of the season. A year in which he wishes “transform the top 10 into top 5, the top 5 into podiums and the podiums into victories“.
On the Breton’s program in particular, Paris-Nice and the Tour of the Basque Country, on which he had shone in 2021, before returning to the roads of the Tour de France. No Giro so this year for Breton: “It is a disappointment yes and no. In any case, the Tour de France is still the race where the team needs to shine, we have to be present.“
I would like to be the leader on the Tour de France – David Gaudu.
A Tour de France on which he had been team leader Last year, in the absence of Thibault Pinot. An event that gave the runner confidence: “The team puts their trust in your hands and dedicates themselves. It gives you some milestones and it’s a pressure that I love to feel.” But not enough to inflate the ego : “You have to stay on earth. Every year, you have to reset your mind and tell yourself that you are starting from zero. Nothing is taken for granted.”, indicates Breton.
For the moment nothing has been decided on the name of the leader of this year, but the Breton does not hide his desire: “Of course, I would like it a lot, afterwards it’s the season that will decide who will be the leader. The goal is to have the best Tour with the best overall classification, thanks to the team’s collective. “
The rider has all the confidence of his Manager, Marc Madiot: “He was extremely consistent at the highest level, with the best, in different types of races. I think he has taken some psychological steps in becoming a real leader, it bodes well for the coming season. “
Running for the team for Valentin Madouas
His teammate Valentin Madouas has also made the Grande Boucle its main objective. Regarding his role, the Breton wants to be collective: “The goal is to help leaders, that’s really close to my heart. I support them as much as possible and I also learn thanks to them, to raise my level“, details Valentin Madouas. The absence of a leader for the moment does not bother the teammate: “For me it’s a strength to run with several leaders. In view of the course it’s a good thing, it allows all the runners to give the maximum each one”, declares the young Finistérien.
The young runner believes that he is “at 80%“of his abilities and that he still has a lot to learn:”I’m starting to know myself, physically. I also learned the management of peaks of shape. I am starting to have benchmarks on certain races. I hope to learn difficult phases to bounce back and perform well all season “, says Breton.
I have my card to play on certain Classics – Valentin Madouas.
Learning that varies throughout the season: “My role is different depending on the race. On certain classics, I have my chance, it is this role which is important to know how to manage. “
Moreover, at the start of the season, Valentin will be expected at the Flandrian and Ardennes Classics for which the puncher wants to be able to “play the win and look for tops 5, see victories“. He will also be on the starting line of Paris-Nice.
Marc Madiot appreciates the young rider’s state of mind: “It arrives at the height of its maturity. I really like his enthusiasm, his will and his determination. He is capable of reinventing himself to seek more and better. I am convinced that it will have a good season“, smiles the General Manager.
Aim for the Tour de France podium
For the team, which celebrates its 25 years in the peloton this season the goal is to “hit hard, win as often as possible, shine on major events“. In particular the Giro and the Tour de France which are”two highlights“for the team.
Regarding the Tour de France, Marc Madiot, the general manager of the training, was clear: “We join those who go fight for the podium. The people who rode there in the last few Tours had nothing more than us, except the will to do so. We have this will“, hammered the General Manager.
We will have this determination and this will that will bring us together to seek results – Marc Madiot.
The leader of the cycling team also insisted on the flagship concept of this season: the collective. “I don’t have an individual goal. I have a collective goal. We realized that we had a need to find ourselves, to recharge our batteries and to re-mobilize all together. Everyone should be concerned with the outcome“. A collective that is built up as the courses go on and that the team wants to be operational from the end of January with the first races.
The return of Thibault Pinot
A Tour de France which will also be marked by the return to the saddle of Thibault Pinot, absent last year. But will he be the only leader of the team? The General Manager has not yet decided: “We will go with several cartridges. Race circumstances will have an influence. Today I am unable to answer you on who will be the leader between Pinot, Gaudu and Störer“, confided Marc Madiot.