As four of the 18 teams continue to dominate races on the men's World Tour, Marc Madiot, manager of Groupama-FDJ, has made a full-throated appeal for budget caps.

A detailed report in the Belgian newspaper Dernière Heure (opens in new tab) points out that 73% of World Tour races so far this season have been won by four teams: UAE Team Emirates, Jumbo Visma, Alpecin Deceuninck, and Sudar Quickstep.

In contrast, five teams have yet to win a single race at the World Tour level this season: AG2R-Citroen, Groupama-FDJ, Arkea-Samsic, Astana Qazaqstan, and Intermarché-Circus-Wanty.

Dernière Heure interviewed three coaches of World Tour teams struggling for success and the Lot-Dstny team, which was demoted from the World Tour to the professional team level after three years of results and ranking point battles, to He analyzed the reasons for the differences between the teams.

"Look at the budget and the classifications," Madio told Dernière Heure, "we are not a team of four. We can't do that."

"We can't do that.

"If we don't put a cap on the budget, we will remain in a situation where huge teams can control everything. But it is very difficult to change the situation."

"These teams can pick the day, time, and place to blow things up; in Groupama-FDJ, they are at the top in both stage races and classics. But they haven't won, and they won't win again."

"To earn the right to be on the podium in a World Tour race" -- as David Gaudoux did, for example, in Paris-Nice -- "I can say I'm giving 100% in every detail."

In the same article, other coaches emphasize that the top players are in the top teams.

Jumbo Visma has four of the most successful riders on the World Tour this season, Primoz Roglic, Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, Christophe Laporte, and Wout Van Aert. They have won 14 of the team's total of 18 victories.

But AG2R Citroën manager Vincent suggested that the difference is not just cash or team budget.

However, Vincent Lavenu, manager of AG2R-Citroën, suggested that the difference was not just about cash or team budgets.

"You have to know how to spend the budget, and even our team, which is rather wealthy, has so far not lived up to expectations."

Purely financial analysis alone cannot fully explain why Ineos Grenadier, one of the largest budget World Tour teams, has only won three World Tour races in 2023.

The issue of budget caps is not new; in an interview with Wieler Fritz in 2022, UCI President David Lapartient said it was an issue his organization was discussing.

Team budgets are not easy to obtain, but according to a Statista survey, estimates for teams participating in the 2021 Tour de France ranged from €50 million to at least €8 million. Other teams interviewed by Dernière Heure were critical of the race strategy of some teams, which they saw as helping rival "big names" win.

The race is prepared down to the last detail by every team.

"In the last few weeks, we've seen teams like Ineos lead all day long and the big names take the win.

Madio said French teams are being penalized, especially for how they spend their budgets on rider salaries. Under French employment law, riders must be full-time employees and must pay higher taxes and insurance premiums.

"When negotiating with a rider, we have to spend more money than our competitors to provide a comparable income," Madio explained.

The French coach also noted a steady increase in costs and fines from the UCI.

Madio claimed that the team faces an additional €50,000 in anti-doping dues, as well as increased expenses due to rising travel and accommodation costs.

Groupama-FDJ removed races like Brabantse Pijl from its calendar despite having riders who would participate. He also claimed that the entry fee from the Grand Tour to the teams has not gone up since 2009.

Expressing pride that his team is currently ranked in the UCI's top 10, he concluded: "I am at the stage of calculating all the euros.