Groupama-FDJ: ten top talents to usher in new era following departures of Démare and Pinot

The cycling year 2023 has already come to an end, so we have plenty of time to take a look back at the past season, team by team. In this episode, IDLProCycling.com takes a deep dive into the performance of Groupama-FDJ, the team of Marc Madiot!

One-day races 2023: Groupama-FDJ

In terms of classics and other one-day races, the key players for Groupama-FDJ in 2023 were primarily Valentin Madouas and Stefan Küng. These two riders, perhaps slightly overshadowed by the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar, Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel, performed exceptionally well nonetheless.

Consider the following: Madouas finished second in Strade Bianche, fifth in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and won significant races for Groupama-FDJ - such as the Bretagne Classic and the French National Championship. With a fifth place in Paris-Roubaix and the World Championships, and sixth places in the Tour of Flanders and E3 Saxo Classic, Küng also performed reliably strong.

Top talent Romain Grégoire started the year off well with an eighth place in Strade Bianche, but then fell back a bit in the one-day races. David Gaudu and Thibaut Pinot added some more honorary finishes in French races, while Arnaud Démare secured victory in the Brussels Cycling Classic, as a parting gift. Young talents Laurence Pithie (GP Cholet), Paul Penhoët (Tour du Finistere) and Lenny Martinez (Mont Ventoux Classic) also each contributed to the team's performance with victories of their own.

(Grand) tours 2023: Groupama-FDJ

If there's one race that's important for Groupama-FDJ, it's the Tour de France. Following Gaudu's fourth place, the team was secretly aiming for the podium this season, but to be honest, both the team and the rider fell short. The departure of Pinot definitely did bring in some publicity, but the performances were somewhat lacking.

In the Giro and Vuelta, however, the team showed its strength. Pinot made the entire Giro exciting and finished with a fifth place and the mountain jersey, although a stage win was the true goal. In the Vuelta, the team started with a very young lineup, in which Martinez was the highlight. The young rider wore the leader's jersey for several days.

Gaudu was on point in the spring at Paris-Nice, where he finished second. Additionally, Grégoire won both the Four Days of Dunkirk and the Tour du Limousin, while Michael Storer was the best in the Tour de l'Ain. These are not WorldTour races, but still notable achievements.

Final grade 2023 Groupama-FDJ

All in all, Groupama-FDJ has seen better years, particularly with more significant performances in the Tour de France. Otherwise, the team had a decent year, especially considering the young average age of the riders. A 6.3 is the final grade given by our (former) editorial members.

Transfers 2023/2024: Groupama-FDJ 

Last year, Groupama-FDJ transferred nine (!) talents from the continental team, and this season, top talent Eddy Le Huitouze is added to the list. Looking at the rest of the incoming transfers, we mainly see experienced men for support. Marc Sarreau, Sven Erik Bystrom and Clement Russo are strong riders who can guide the young talents through spring and stage races.

Rémy Rochas is a shorter climber coming from Cofidis, while Cyril Barthe and Matthew Walls, with their fast legs, can also play a role in the development of some young sprinters. This makes sense, considering that the team also lost some talent and experience in this area with the departures of Miles Scotson, Bram Welten, Jake Stewart and Démare, who left back in August.

Besides Démare's departure, the retirement of Pinot is particularly notable, marking the end of an era for Madiot. In addition, Storer (Tudor) and the retired Matthieu Ladagnous have left the French team.

Incoming: Marc Sarreau (AG2R Citroën Team), Sven Erik Bystrom (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Rémy Rochas (Cofidis), Clement Russo (Arkéa Samsic), Cyril Barthe (Burgos-BH), Matthew Walls (BORA-hansgrohe) and Eddy Le Huitouze (continental team)

Outgoing (provisional list): Arnaud Démare, Miles Scotson (Arkéa Samsic), Thibaut Pinot, Matthieu Ladagnous (Stopped), Bram Welten (DSM firmenich-PostNL), Michael Storer (Tudor) and Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech)

Ones to watch 2024: Groupama-FDJ

The 2024 lineup for Groupama-FDJ is quite exciting. David Gaudu and Valentin Madouas, now both 27 years old, should be looking at the upcoming season as a year to harvest success. These two gentlemen from Brittany will want and need to make their mark in the classics and grand tours, as there is nothing short of a small army of upcoming young talents behind them, ready to contend in the future.

Of course, we think of top talents Romain Grégoire and Lenny Martinez, the crown jewels. But several rides are also waiting in the wings to follow in Démare's footsteps: Paul Penhoët, Laurence Pithie, Lewis Askey and Samuel Watson all possess the abilities to excel in sprint races and classics, where the team also has key figure Stefan Küng.

(Provisional) selection Groupama-FDJ 2024

1. Bruno Armirail
2. Lewis Askey
3. Cyril Barthe
4. Sven Erik Bystrom
5. Clément Davy
6. David Gaudu
7. Kevin Geniets
8. Lorenzo Germani
9. Romain Grégoire
10. Ignatas Konovalovas
11. Stefan Küng
12. Olivier Le Gac
13. Eddy Le Huitouze
14. Fabian Lienhard
15. Valentin Madouas
16. Lenny Martinez
17. Rudy Molard
18. Quentin Pacher
19. Enzo Paleni
20. Paul Penhoët
21. Laurence Pithie
22. Rémy Rochas
23. Clément Russo
24. Marc Sarreau
25. Reuben Thompson
26. Lars van den Berg
27. Matthew Walls
28. Samuel Watson