Never shy about sharing his opinions - good or bad - on riders and other teams, longstanding Groupama-FDJ manager Marc Madiot was surprisingly complimentary on Tadej Pogačar at the Vélo d'Or awards on Friday night.
At the event held in Paris, Pogačar was awarded two trophies to close his superlative 2025 season, which included a fourth Tour de France title, a second consecutive rainbow jersey at the World Championships in Rwanda, the European road title, a fifth straight Il Lombardia win, and many other victories. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider also took the wins in the one-day races Strade Bianche, the Tour of Flanders, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
The Slovenian also took the runner-up spot at Paris-Roubaix, after trying multiple times to break clear.
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For Madiot, a French winner of Paris-Roubaix in 1985, seeing Pogačar take the start at Paris-Roubaix was a “beautiful symbol,” and something he was “hopeful” to see.
After all, the last time a Tour de France champion took the start of the Hell of the North was Greg Lemond in 1991.
Madiot couldn’t resist adding, with a sly smile, that “at first glance, I'm not a huge fan of Tadej Pogačar, my chouchou is Wout [van Aert], for me, he's the ultimate rider.”
“But I'm impressed by Tadej's mental strength,” he continued in comments shared by L’Equipe on social media. “When he commits to a race, he never misses an opportunity, and what I really admire about him - something that hasn't been demonstrated by previous Tour de France winners in recent years - is his sense of history. He has a deep understanding of his sport. And when a rider of his calibre and standing respects and commits to the major events in his sport, we have to give him credit, encourage him, and support him.”
“From time to time in the press, people say, 'Yes, if he does Paris-Roubaix, he'll take risks in the Tour.”
“No. No,” Madiot emphasised.
“I think that in his life, winning Roubaix will be just as important as winning the Tour because he's steeped in the very essence of cycling. And for that reason, we must encourage him in this direction.”
Pogačar said that both Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix - two races missing from his palmares - would be part of his program for 2026.
