Australian debuts at Tour Down Under for French team
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Miles Scotson (Groupama-FDJ) at the 2019 Tour Down Under(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Miles Scotson (Groupama-FDJ) joined the main breakaway on stage 4 of the 2019 Tour Down Under(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Miles Scotson (Groupama-FDJ) attacks from the breakaway as they approach Corkscrew on stage 4 of the 2019 Tour Down Under(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Ever since the inception of his FDJ team, manager Marc Madiot has had an eye for spotting and signing Australian riders. Since he set up FDJ on the eve of the 1997 season, he has signed five riders from Down Under, with Bradley McGee, Baden Cooke and Matt Wilson the most memorable. Miles Scotson is the latest off the conveyor belt to join what is now Groupama-FDJ, and after two years at BMC Racing, the 25-year-old is looking to learn and develop under Madiot's tutelage.
"It's been a good week with the guys, and I've been getting a feel for the team. It's a nice and relaxed atmosphere. I didn't know French when coming here, but now I'm being forced to learn," he told Cyclingnews with a smile at the Tour Down Under, where he is making his debut for the team.
Madiot picked up three BMC Racing riders in the transfer market for this season. Stefan Kung agreed terms early on before Scotson and Swiss climber Kilian Frankiny followed suit. Both Kung and Scotson will add undoubted firepower to the French squad's team time trial core, while Scotson also has ambitions of making his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España this season.
McGee, currently the selector of the Australian men's national road team, rode in Madiot's FDJ colours for 10 of his 11 seasons in the professional ranks. In that time, he won two stages of the Tour de France and a stage each in the Vuelta and the Giro d'Italia. He also wore the leader's jerseys in all three Grand Tours.
Scotson, a former national road champion sought McGee's advice before joining the French team and added that the former professional would be a sounding board in the future.
"I don't know too much yet, but I'm going to the UAE Tour and then after that I'll look to do the Classics," said Scotson. "A Grand Tour is definitely in the plan as it's something that I didn't get to do at BMC. I turned 25 yesterday, and now I have to try my hand at that kind of development. I believe that it will most likely be the Vuelta."
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
