Despite Pogacar’s strong words, Madiot sticks to his guns in cycling safety debate

One of Madiot and his allies’ key concerns is the increasing speed of the peloton. There have already been calls to impose limits on gear ratios, and starting August 1, the UCI will begin testing exactly that: a maximum of 54 teeth in the front and 11 in the back. That decision is sure to bring a smile to Madiot’s face. “We have to fight to slow the evolution of cycling,” he told L’Équipe.

In a sport where every rider and team is constantly chasing that one percent improvement, this small group actually wants to take a few steps back. Crashes are cited as living proof that the sport has become too dangerous with all the advancements in equipment, nutrition, and training. “There will be more and more deaths,” Madiot warns. “But you see that and we’ll still get back on the bike the next day.”  

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In addition to limiting gear ratios, the French team boss believes that less technology would also lead to greater safety. “We need to slow the development of the sport, and there are simple solutions for that. Get rid of earpieces, hide power meters, and ban the use of GPS. If you do all that, the danger decreases and riders will take fewer risks. Right now, we're in constant contact with the rider, they’re being remotely controlled.”

According to Madiot, this leads to situations where the entire peloton wants to be at the front at the same time. “From the team car, we’re telling them: watch out, danger ahead, a village, speed bumps, roundabouts. You need to be in front. But there’s not enough space for everyone at the front. We’re going faster and faster just to be up front, and without all that tech, that wouldn’t happen anymore.”

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Tadej Pogacar, currently the biggest star in cycling, already voiced his opinion this past winter. “Everyone always wants to go faster, the entire cycling world is evolving, just like every other sport. Records are being broken because of technological progress. A bike that goes ten kilometers per hour slower isn’t going to change that much,” the Slovenian said in December 2024.

He also made a key argument for why teams should keep pushing the limits of what’s possible. “From a marketing standpoint, such a limit would be a problem, if we have to promote things that are actually worse. Everything has to keep getting better; sponsors want that too. There are no limits to that. It was just as dangerous in the past. I don’t think riders took fewer risks when they were going slower.”