Marc Madiot does what he does best; training riders, meanwhile hoping that some of the talents won’t go to the financial stronger foreign teams. Eisel, Cooke, Rebellin, McGee, Lövkvist, Guidi and Berzin were all part of Madiot’s team once. Only the last mentioned went to the French gambling-team at an older age.


The interesting thing for young riders is the possibility to ride in relative calm and freedom to grow. The latest gem in Madiot’s crown is Philippe Gilbert. Now that the Belgian has taken another step in maturity and power, ‘Flip’ is slowly getting to the world’s elite.


The ...