What a way to end theoff season.... Groupama-FDJ riders get tickets from spanish police at training camp

Most teams used December to organise their winter training camps. Many squads, including Lidl-Trek, Movistar, Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe and others, opted for Spain as their base for the off-season. Groupama-FDJ United did the same, heading to the Costa Blanca. But it quickly became clear that the French team has not had the best of luck so far.

Groupama-FDJ have come through a busy transfer period. Lars van den Berg had already retired from professional cycling back in March, while Lewis Askey and Sven Erik Bystrøm chose to move to NSN Cycling Team and Uno-X Mobility respectively. The biggest departure by far, however, was Stefan Küng. The Swiss time trial specialist has joined Tudor Pro Cycling, forcing the French outfit to look for reinforcements.

Groupama-FDJ has had a productive transfer period. Lars van den Berg quit cycling back in March, while Lewis Askey and Sven Erik Bystrøm opted for NSN Cycling Team and Uno-X Mobility, respectively. But Stefan Küng was by far the biggest name to leave. The Swiss time trialist will join Tudor Pro Cycling. The French thus had to look for reinforcements.

Those reinforcements did arrive, with no fewer than eight new riders joining the team. Among the new signings are Clément Berthet (from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Axel Huens (from Unibet Tietema Rockets) and Ewen Costiou (from Arkéa–B&B Hotels). A training camp is usually the ideal opportunity to get to know one another and ride together for the first time - but that is precisely where things went wrong.

A group of ten Groupama-FDJ riders headed out for a training ride in the Spanish hills, but made a mistake in the small village of Lliber. The main road through the village is narrow, which is why traffic lights are used to allow vehicles to pass through alternately. The cyclists, however, ignored the red light.

Although traffic was light at the time, their action did not go unnoticed by a police officer. He stopped the entire group and showed little leniency towards the Groupama-FDJ riders’ behaviour. All ten were handed a fine of €100, according to a Strava post by Costiou that has since been deleted. Hardly the ideal start to a training camp, as the French team will be hoping that the new season itself runs rather more smoothly.