With a sense of revenge and with hunger, Rémi Cavagna started the 2025 season about a month ago. After a difficult experience abroad, the former French champion saw the Groupama-FDJ cycling team as the perfect spot to bounce back, and his first months in the organisation have confirmed his choice. The “flame got going again” and the Clermont-Ferrand TGV can once again look to the future in a serene and optimistic way. We sat down with him.
Rémi, generally speaking, how have been your first steps within the team?
Everything is going well in this start to the season. I joined the team at the end of the last one, which allowed me to carry out the various tests in October, to get used to the new bikes, and to get to know everyone. Everything was settled by the end of 2024, I felt super welcomed, and that put me in great conditions to start 2025. I have already taken part in a few races this year and everything is going wonderfully. The team is happy with me, and I am very happy with the team.
“They believe in me and trust me”
Do you already feel comfortable in this new environment?
Yes, I have already gone past that, as if I had already been in the team for a year or two. The language “barrier” had never really been a problem for me in my previous experiences, even though it was a bit more complicated at the very beginning at Movistar. Yet, it is true that here, it is still easier with French. I join the team, and right away, I am able to express my expectations, my desires, talk about my little physical problems, share my comments on the time trial’s position, and everything else. On top of that, there is great communication in the team because everything is connected. When I talk to the doctor about an issue, there is immediate feedback to the coach, the trainer, the physiotherapist. I really feel comfortable in that setup. I feel that I am listened to and that everything is done to make sure that I succeed. I feel completely integrated and I am really looking forward to what’s to come.
You said that “desire” kind of disappeared in 2024. At what point did you feel that it was back?
As soon as I really met the team in Besançon, in October, I immediately had a good feeling about it. This was confirmed during the training camps in Spain, where I could ride with all my colleagues, where I was able to meet all the staff, all the managers. I definitely went through a lot of doubts in 2024, but as soon as I knew I could join the team, I immediately had a new perspective, and the first contacts didn’t refute it. I really felt this was a good bunch of people, and that immediately brought that desire back. There are also lots of young guys in the team, and I not only want to train in order to keep up with them, but I also want to bring them a bit of my experience. The flame never went out, but let’s say that it quickly got going again, and every day a little more. I’m more and more motivated at each race, at each training session. For example, I told the team after the Tour of the Algarve that I was motivated to do the Boucles Sud-Ardèche because I didn’t have a race before Paris-Nice. In the end, they called me, and I was super happy to be there that weekend. It also shows that they believe in me and trust me. It’s another proof that I made the right choice.
How do you assess your start to the season?
I began with the Grand Prix La Marseillaise and the Étoile de Bessèges, which are races I wanted to take part in because I had never done them before, since I was in foreign teams. It was new to me. The level is lower than in the WorldTour in these races, and it is therefore perfect to get back in the peloton and get used to your new team, your new teammates. Overall, it went well. We didn’t win, but it was still a success for me, because I found this fun and this desire to work as a team again. I was also able to test myself on the time trial with the new bike, both in Bessèges and in the Algarve. I am where I wanted to be at this point of the season. I am not yet at 100% but I feel that I am on the right track, and all it takes is a little spark for the big performance to come. In any case, my form will only improve as I race. I have always needed competitions to gain momentum.
“Every small positive sign will only motivate me for the future”
When you attacked on your first day of racing with the team, did you want to show that the “real” Cavagna was back?
I was not the leader of the team on La Marseillaise, my mission was to anticipate the big fight. It allowed me not only to do something I like, but also to gain confidence. Obviously, my attempt was a tricky one, especially since I did not receive much help, but the fact that the team believed in me and gave me carte blanche calmed me down and rekindled that flame. From the briefing, I was excited to try and do something good.
Did your performances on the Étoile de Bessèges also help you gain confidence?
With what happened, there were only 80 riders left in the final weekend, so I don’t consider my second place on the time trial as a proper achievement. However, there were some positives in all of this: it was my very first official ride on the time trial bike, the course didn’t really suit me, and the feelings were pretty good. Although it wasn’t a “crazy” result, it was obviously more positive than negative. Above all, it was already an improvement compared to what I had experienced in 2024. It’s certainly not a reference in terms of performance, but every small positive sign will only motivate me for the future.
Are you satisfied with your first time trials?
I’m really happy with the position. I wanted to start from scratch this winter, because I knew that some things that weren’t going well, that some things were bothering me. So it’s changed quite a bit and it’s only positive for now. There are of course still things to do and refine, but the bulk of the work has been done. Now, it will mainly be about working at home with the time trial bike because we know that it’s always a special position to get used to. In 2024, I had put this discipline aside a bit and I hardly rode this bike anymore. Now, I try to take it 2-3 times a week, like I used to do in my best years, because it’s really, really important. If we talk about racing, the time trials in Bessèges and the Algarve ended with a steep climb. So it’s not easy to assess the result, but I know it’s promising. I know what I can do, and I know that there is just a small step to take to get something even better. In any case, the momentum is good for the future.
“I’ve actually already found what I’m chasing”
Did the equipment live up to your expectations?
I’m very happy with the bike, but just like the rest of the team! Whether it’s the time trial bike or the road bike. I’m also super happy when I see this desire for professionalism within the team, who constantly work and seek the best for us in terms of equipment. They know that the time trial is an important thing for me, and everything is done so that I am 200% fulfilled and that the smallest details are optimized.
Do you plan to focus particularly on time trialling this year?
I resumed a really demanding work in this area this winter, and I enjoy it. It doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s my only priority, but let’s say that the time trial is still a good performance indicator. It’s just you, alone against time, without slipstream. It’s your pure physical performance. If I’m at the forefront in time trials, it means I have the required level. And if I have the required level, it means I’ll have it in the rest of the races too. It’s also psychological. Sometimes, having a good momentum on the time trial allows you to achieve other things in racing. That’s why I’m looking forward to racing every week. I want to be at the front, I want to race as I love to, to attack from afar, to reproduce what allowed me to win a few races up until now. I want to find that aggressive spirit again.
What are you chasing these days, at almost 30 years old?
I’ve actually already found what I’m chasing because I’m now happy and I feel good. I’ve already won, although cycling isn’t just that obviously. When you are a pro cyclist, you want to perform and win races, and that is still what drives me. But by joining the team, I have already found 75% of what I sought: desire, motivation, and happiness. I’m not saying the rest will be a bonus. It will just be the work’s consequences. I know what I have left to do to be 100% fulfilled.
“It is important to me to support the new generation”
So you do not set yourself clear goals?
Not at all. We will see that with the team, but one thing at a time. This year, I do not want to put things in my head. I want to perform in each race. At each start, I want to bring 100% of what I am able to bring to the team or seize my own opportunities to perform and win.
Would you say a second career is opening up?
It’s maybe more of a second chapter, as I’m starting this one with a new desire, a new motivation, and something different from previous years. I really wanted to break with 2024. I am trying to forget a little bit of what I’ve done in the past to start anew and renew myself, even if there is a certain continuity. I want to perform with my qualities as a time trialist, a breakaway rider, but also as a domestique as I have shown in previous years to help the team and the youngsters to perform and win great races. I am still extremely motivated, and I know that I have the capacity to provide a lot of work for others.
You often mention the “youngsters”…
Because it is important to me to support the new generation! I will be 30 this year, it goes by fast, and I see lots of young guys in the team. I pay a little more attention to it than I did a year or two ago. When I look at the boys who are coming now, they were born in 2004, 2005… It makes my head spin. Yet, what shocks the most is that they are stronger earlier and earlier. So I want to train hard to help them, and I want to give them a little of what I have learned. With “La Conti”, we are also lucky to have a good bunch of youngsters who are asking to be guided to reach the highest level.
“I found everything I needed […] It motivates me even more to smash it all”
Do you aim to reach the best level you have ever reached?
As I said, I don’t have a plan in mind, but I want to enjoy cycling. And the fun for cycling is already back. It’s a very good thing, and if the results should come, they will come. I don’t want to keep comparing myself to what I was before. I’m 29 years old. Normally, I’m entering my prime. Physically, it’s going very well. I can see it and my coach can see it. I’m confident that we can work on the room for improvement that I had identified a few years ago, and I know that I can go for better. In some areas of professional cycling, such as nutrition or “marginal gains”, I was a bit “old school”. Some things could be improved. In 2021 I lost a lot of time trials by a handful of seconds. I told myself: “if I’m not far behind by not doing things 100%, if I do everything right it should work”. These are the gains that I want to go for. For now, I need a little more than marginal gains, but it’s on the right track.
Finally, how do you feel mentally today?
I am a fulfilled and happy rider. I am happy because I found everything I needed in a team. It motivates me all the more to smash it all and go for great successes, and help the team go for great successes.
