'Knives against our throats' - French WorldTour teams warn of talent drain amidst endemic economic difficulties

The expression cyclisme à deux vitesses - "two-speed cycling" - was used by some French teams as shorthand to allege a tolerance for doping in other nations or teams. The same phrase could well be employed now to highlight the differences between France's stringent fiscal and employment legislation that concerns teams and their international rivals.

French employment law requires that athletes and staff are registered as company employees and this reportedly cost around 40% more than riders for other teams who work under contractor status.

The imminent exit from French squads to foreign teams of high-profile French riders such as Lenny Martinez, Axel Zingle and Valentin Paret-Peintre have put the employment status issue back in the spotlight.

As too, have some increasingly severe and well-publicised financial woes for French WorldTour team Arkea-B&B Hotels, which could threaten their existence beyond 2025.

"Everything simply costs more," Marc Madiot, Martinez director at Groupama-FDJ, told L'Équipe.

"The French teams, these days, are not in the position to fight with the top squads in terms of recruitment. We can't go on dreaming."

Emmanuel Hubert, manager at Arkéa-B&B, was equally downhearted and direct about France's financial handicaps and its consequences. 

"It's not like we're bigger assholes than the other teams [to work for]," he said.  "The only issue at stake here is financial."

Madiot was at pains to point out that he did not dispute the fairness of the extra tax burden in France. But as he said, the estimated 40% difference in price tags for riders represented a major surcharge when it came to fighting to sign top professionals, who would naturally prefer to sign elsewhere if they can secure a higher contract.

A recent spike in rider salaries across the board has further accentuated the difference and when that rider was a particularly talented and successful one, even more so.

"When it's 40% on a 50,000 euros annual salary, it's not an enormous difference," added Cedric Vasseur, the Cofidis team manager told  L'Équipe, 

"When it comes three million, it's a limiting factor. The real concern is that top talents no longer come to French teams because tax-wise, they're penalised."

As for heading in the opposite direction and rider going from France to abroad as has recently been the case of Martínez, Madiot was even more categorical about the one-sided nature of the battle to retain his services for 2025.

"I couldn't even fight for him," Madiot told L'Équipe.

"The difference for Martínez is astronomical. After, you have agents who tell you your team is great for forming riders, but as soon as they're playing their top game - it's time to move on!"

The numbers game

While Madiot said that "the knives are against our throats," Arkéa-B&B Hotels manager Emmanuel Hubert has warned that the team's situation the financial mid-term is growing critical.

Given current financial problems and the lack of economic guarantees for the team beyond 2025, when both main sponsors current sponsorships deal end, Hubert has reportedly let three promising riders go.

Vuelta a España stage winner in 2021 Clément Champoussin, Italian Vincenzo Albanese and Maeva Squiban from the Arkea-B&B women's team are leaving a year earlier than stipulated in their contact, too, with Albanese linked to a move to EF Education-EasyPost.

"Right now, I can't guarantee them anything beyond December 31 2025," Hubert told Le Télégramme when asked about their departure.

"When they have a contract in their clause allowing them to do so, they have the possibility of committing themselves elsewhere. And  they were very much in demand.

"I'm putting themselves in my place, they have to think about what happens after 2025. Right now I can't offer them that, I have to adapt myself to the situation. Face up to it."

Yet another rider rumoured to be leaving the squad is British sprinter Dan McLay, whose contract with Arkéa-B&B Hotels ends this season. However, any reason for the 32-year-old's reported departure is not yet fully clear.

Arkéa-B&B Hotels have an added complication should they still exist beyond 2025: possible World Tour relegation.

In the three-year WorldTour team ranking, as reported recently by Cyclingnews, their accumulated points total for 2023 and 2024 puts them in 19th spot. Only those in the top 18 can qualify for a WorldTour team status and Arkéa currently lag well behind 18th-placed Cofidis, by 2,366 points.