Madiot responds to Armstrong

In the controversy regarding Lance Armstrong's return to professional cycling and especially the Tour de France next year, the seven-time Tour de France winner had recently voiced some concerns over his safety on French roads. In an interview with English newspaper Guardian in November, Armstrong had said that "there are directors of French teams that have encouraged people to take to the streets, elbow to elbow."

Last week, during his team Astana's press conference on the Spanish island of Tenerife, the American re-iterated his allegations, specifying that it was Française des Jeux' team director Marc Madiot that told the public to "block the roads" in case of Armstrong's return to the Tour.

Madiot firmly refuted ever having made such comments. "I have never said such a thing," Madiot told L'Equipe last week. "I would never stop anyone from riding a bike. It would be the worst to incite anyone to make Armstrong crash. He has every right to remain in cycling, to promote his foundation against cancer – I would even be ready to help him. All I said was: you cannot build up the future with the past."