Marc Madiot celebrated France's victory over England in the World Cup soccer tournament with the French national anthem during the Groupama-FDJ training camp in Spain. with a new wave of talented young riders for 2023, his team convinced that they can become like the successful French national soccer team or Ajax, which plays "total football" on the Bicycle World Tour.

Madiou has headed the French team for 25 years, but he is feeling more inspired and enthusiastic than ever with seven neo-pros stepping up from the Groupama-FDJ Continental development team. The team also has a backbone of successful and experienced riders, including Giro d'Italia contender Thibaut Pinot, time trial and classics leader Stephane Kühn, sprinter Arnaud Demaret, and Tour de France climber David Gaudoux.

"I love watching soccer and wanted to replicate what FC Nantes, AJ Auxerre, and Ajax Amsterdam were able to do in their heyday. They had a plan and they have marked an era," Madio told L'Equipe magazine when the French team unveiled its navy blue racing colors and announced its goals for 2023.

"We have gradually built the team we have dreamed of for 20 years. This mix of young talent and experience is like when I was at Renault with Inaud, Fignon and Lemont. There are players with special qualities like Pinot, Demaret, and Gaudoux, and at the same time there is a wave of youngsters coming through.

The French team has become well known in recent years for promoting young, in-house developed players, and since 2019, eight have jumped up to the World Tour, including Jake Stewart, Kevin Jenyets, and Lars van den Berg. louis Askey in January, August Following the promotion of Paul Penhoe on August 1, the 2023 Groupama-FDJ Continental alumni list includes 19-year-old Giro della Valle d'Aosta winner Lenny Martinez, another teenager Romain Gregoire, British under-23 Gent Wevelgem winner Samuel Watson, talented Kiwi riders Ruben Thompson and Lawrence Petit, Le Triptych des Mons et Chateaux winner Enzo Paleni, and Italian U23 road champion Lorenzo Germani.

Martinez is the son of former professional rider and mountain biker Miguel Martinez.

Gregoire is the U23 winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège and took the stage win and points jersey at the U23 Giro. Thompson won the Giro della Valle d'Aosta in 2021 and finished second to Martinez this season and fifth in the U23 Giro.

"With the 'Continental Team' we could have qualified for the Grand Tour," Madio said, boasting of the quality of his development team and UCI points.

"It shows what a team we had this year, made up of riders 19 and 20 years old, the oldest being 21. None of them would be replaced by any other player."

"Now I want to take advantage of their enthusiasm. They already have this philosophy and I want to capitalize on it and nurture it. That's a good challenge."

Madio revealed that many of the young riders will make their Grand Tour debuts at the 2023 Vuelta a España. Winning is about more than numbers and UCI ranking points.

"We are talking about something more constructive. If it leads to 25 wins, or if it leads to 15 wins, then we will account for it at the end of the season.

"The difference is that now we have the power to assert our ambition, which is different from the old days. We have the extra talent to play our game, as they say in soccer."

"Of course we will be nervous at the start of our first game. We have to work hard and feel that we want to progress to where we want to go."