“We are increasing in power”. Already at the forefront in terms of young riders’ development, particularly since the establishment of “La Conti” in 2019 and then the junior program in 2021, the Groupama-FDJ cycling team intends to further support its efforts in this sector. We took stock with Thierry Cornec, deputy general manager of the organisation.
Thierry, the young riders’ development program will further evolve during the winter. Why is that?
Our sport, like all others, is getting younger, performance is getting younger, and we also have signed long-term projects with riders, from the junior ranks to the WorldTour. When I arrived last June, I was convinced that the team needed to structure its development program even more. Our vision over 3, 5 or 10 years is that the team can supply the highest level of the organisation, namely the WorldTour, in order to maintain a real balance between riders coming from La Conti and riders coming from elsewhere. This is what will ultimately allow the team to keep its DNA and its values. This is something particularly important for us, for our partners Groupama and FDJ, and in line with the team’s history. The program has already been in place since 2019 and proved its efficiency in the 2022 off-season with only “internal” signings (8 riders moved from La Conti to the WorldTour that year). Our ambition is to take it to the next level.
“One single team”
How will this be expressed from a structural point of view?
One single team. From the juniors, but even more so from La Conti to the WorldTeam, Groupama-FDJ is one single team. This was already so in practice, particularly with these frequent exchanges between continental and WorldTour teams. From now on, this will be reflected in the organization. Julien Pinot is head of the training department, therefore for all the coaches, from the juniors to the WorldTour. Philippe Mauduit is head of the sports department, therefore for all the sports directors, from the juniors to the WorldTour. This is an important step. As we do for the riders, we will use the junior program and La Conti to integrate staff into the team, help them grow, and bring them to the WorldTour. One single team.
What will change?
For example, the rider’s race schedule will be managed jointly between La Conti and the WorldTeam, under the supervision of Philippe. This coordination already existed, but it is now made formal in the organization. The goal is to make sure that the participation of “La Conti” riders in races with the WorldTeam is beneficial to their development as well as to the team.
Are human resources also being increased?
We are increasing in power in terms of organisation, but we are also significantly strengthening support in the junior and U23 sectors with the arrival of Yann Le Boudec since the beginning of September and Jimmy Turgis as from November. Yann Le Boudec will be in charge of scouting. He will take the necessary time to understand the rider’s environment, know his expectations, and find out if they match ours. Jimmy Turgis will be the junior program coordinator and will also be a coach for the juniors and for La Conti. We will therefore offer the juniors a real training continuity towards La Conti. Jimmy currently trains riders from another WorldTour team; he was a rider himself and has an exact understanding of what this job requires. The structure was reinforced at the base, to ensure that it is even more solid on the upper levels.
“There is a real shared responsibility”
The foundations are already very solid, aren’t they?
Certainly. When I was outside the team, in 2022, and I saw these eight riders make the jump from La Conti to the WorldTour, I said to myself that the “academy” model we usually see in football or other sports was starting to bear fruit in a stunning way. Since then, we have seen many development teams creating the last few years. By joining the Groupama-FDJ cycling team, I had confirmation that the academy’s foundations were really in place here. The ambition is now to strengthen them significantly in many areas. Besançon is a physical base as well as a human one. We have the desire, with this base camp, to provide all the support ingredients for the ideal development of the young riders who join us.
As for the riders’ development, what is the role of the team?
The team’s responsibility does not end when the contract is signed. During talks with a few riders who are now in the WorldTour, I asked them the following questions: did you imagine doing this job when you were in high school? Do you like this job on a day-to-day basis? Do you feel good in the team and outside it? Our responsibility is above all to bring what is necessary to help these riders to do their job in the best possible way. We have this responsibility to provide the necessary resources and attention. Conversely, the rider also has a real responsibility to provide the necessary ingredients, namely his commitment, his transparency about his expectations or struggles. There is a real shared responsibility, and the strengthening of our development program, in a structural and human way, is part of this process.
What are you especially careful about?
At this age, the rider really becomes a protagonist of his development. Without underestimating the investments made in the U15 or U17 categories to reach a certain level, the junior category and the first two U23 years are extremely important stages for their development. Our role is to prevent them from wandering, whether in terms of training, support, or letting them think that it will be easy. Being a rider is a job. For some, it requires being domestiques, for others, to develop leadership qualities, which often emerge at that time, with satisfactions and failures. The desire to strengthen the structure also acts in this direction: detect qualities very early, strengthen them very early, and do not hesitate to move a rider up to the WorldTour if his physical qualities allow it. In the same way, we need to detect weaknesses very early, so that we can correct them, so that they don’t bother him later.
“We’ll have succeeded in our mission when we’ll see the same smiles, the same motivation and the same energy as we see with Thibaud or Brieuc”
How does the team want to be attractive?
Some are attractive by making something shine, while it is actually less accomplished behind the scenes. Our choice is rather to give meaning to sporting projects and to provide riders with pieces of understanding that will make our approach in Besançon more appealing to them than any other. That is to say: a solid support approach, a desire to support them in their dual project for those concerned and a shared sporting vision. A rider whose sole goal is to be a WorldTour rider will not necessarily succeed. On the other hand, a rider who joins La Conti and who is aware that he is there to develop, and that this will require mutual commitment, will have every chance of succeeding. Recently, Brieuc and Thibaud have confirmed once again that this pattern works. Our aim is to strengthen it to make it even more efficient and bring riders into the WorldTour in the shortest possible time, but in the best possible way. This does not only mean performing well in terms of results, but also understanding that this is the job they will do for years, and that it will require daily investments and responsibilities.
Can you tell us a word about La Conti’s squad for next year?
We have paid particular attention to the various factors that I mentioned earlier. For example, Rémi Daumas has a dual project at INSA Toulouse. Reef Roberts confirms our New Zealand network, with the renewal of Lewis Bower next year. I am also looking forward to seeing our juniors who are joining La Conti, with Baptiste Grégoire and Eliott Boulet, in addition to the signing of a rider like Maximilian Cushway, coming from an amateur team. We will have succeeded in our mission when we’ll see them with the same smiles, the same desire, and the same energy that I notably detected with Thibaud or Brieuc in their recent interviews. I am also thinking of the staff who supported them for two years. It is particularly rewarding and even moving for them to see the riders develop and blossom at the highest level of our sport on a daily basis. Brieuc’s victory in Il Lombardia U23 a few days ago is for example a very nice reward for Brieuc but also for the staff of “La Conti”.
