Marc Madiot blog: Tinkov can boycott the Tour de France but FDJ will race!

Oleg Tinkov wants to boycott the Tour de France next year? Good on him but I’ll be there with my team! I’m a Frenchman, I have a French team and no reason to boycott the race. The Tour de France is not a product, it’s heritage. A businessman who wants to make money in sport shouldn’t come into cycling, he’d better choose tennis or football. We have to deal with the history of our sport. It has been created by individuals or newspapers, not by federations, and that is not specific to the Tour de France. Anyway, our sponsors support us firstly and mostly because of the greatness of the Tour de France.

The irrepressible FDJ team manager Marc Madiot brings his unrestrained opinions and insights to Cyclingnews, giving our English-speaking readers a glimpse inside the culture of the French team, and French cycling.