"Kittel turned up in a suit. What class! We, the French, looked like nothing."

[Flick of the Elbow]

Some forthright opinions from Marc Madiot, the spirit of De Gaulle lives on !
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/madiot-like-it-or-not-france-is-the-centre-of-the-cycling-world

 

[Bollo]

Although the are one or two valid observations in there, for example the Tour of Bejing, it read like one of those dinosaurs from the Football Association saying "But we invented the game!"

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

And what great motivation for his team in the ttt worlds "that I have to hand over €70,000 to go and do a World Championships Team Time Trial next year in the United States. All of that to clown around on the telly for ten seconds!"

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

FDJ.fr manager calls for protection of Coupe de France races

FDJ.fr manager Marc Madiot has warned that French races below WorldTour level are in danger of disappearing from the calendar and he has called for the structures of cycling in what he termed its “four historic countries” – France, Belgium, Spain and Italy – to be safeguarded.

...

“I’ve been in cycling for 35, 40 years and I’ve realised one thing: anything that’s artificial doesn’t last, even if you put dough behind it,” Madiot said. “China [the Tour of Beijing] is dead. The Leeds Classic [the 1990s World Cup race] is dead. To last, you need to have local roots. Canada and Australia, they work because there’s an identity. There’s public interest and the locals participate.”
​

No contradiction there then. Some races work because they have an identity and public interest. French races, sub World Tour, are in danger of disappearing. Doesn't the logic of the second quote explain the first?

 

[gavroche]

Come on Marc, you tell them. France put cycling on the world map in 1903 with the first TdF and still has some of the most prestigious races : Paris- Roubaix, Criterium du Dauphine.... and of course the Tour which is every riders dream to win a stage of it / wear the maillo jaune. He is also right in saying that France, Italy, Spain and Belgium are the four historic countries and have produced more champions than any other countries. I hope Marc Madiot will continue with his crusade and will be listen to.

 

[John the Monkey]

I think the INNRNG blogger pointed out that some of the translations were a little selective (missing out a part where Madiot admitted to being deliberately provocative, apparently) - might be worth reading the original interview too.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

I see that he omits the Netherlands from his list of proper cycling countries

 

[HF2300]

I think the INNRNG blogger pointed out that some of the translations were a little selective (missing out a part where Madiot admitted to being deliberately provocative, apparently) - might be worth reading the original interview too.

Any links for this? I couldn't find it on INRNG.

 

[John the Monkey]

Any links for this? I couldn't find it on INRNG.

Can't find the original tweet in the conversation, but it looks like it was an oversight anyway;

https://twitter.com/inrng/status/530683169092018176

 

[oldroadman]

But the main question is, does anyone care what M. Madiot thinks?