It is one of the most prestigious classics, one of the 5 monuments of cycling and one of the great moments of the start of the season: the Tour of Flanders, 107th edition, this Sunday April 2, 2023, promises a battle of chiefs. Between the local star, the Belgian Wout Van Aert, his great Dutch rival Mathieu Van der Poel and the all-terrain phenomenon Tadej Pogaçar, there will be mayhem on the cobbled mountains. And, perhaps, a French referee: Valentin Madouas from the Groupama-FDJ team, 3rd in the race last year and still consistent in these classics. Special columnist for RFI during the last Tour de France, the Breton picked up his phone to give his last impressions before the start.
RFI: Valentin Madouas, for those who do not necessarily know these Flanders races, this holy fortnight, as we say in Belgium, what makes the Tour of Flanders and all of these classics so special.
Valentin Madouas: Their difficulty, already: they are long races, often more than 250km, with passages on these very complicated cobbled mountains, which give spice and often offer reversals of situation. And then theatmosphere, of course, is special. The fervor is very important, we are talking about half a million people on the side of the roads throughout the day, it is quite extraordinary, comparable to the Tour de France, except that we are in Belgium and it is smells: the smell of barbecue, fries, the beer that flies over the mountains, that’s Flanders.
We must want to stop sometimes to taste it, a good Belgian beer, right?
We necessarily want (Laughs). Afterwards, we are focused on the race and we think of the post-race beer (Laughs).
They say you’re not the type to stress out. Except that today, there is an expectation, born of your recent performances on these Flandrian classics. Is it an additional pressure to manage?
No, I arrive with the same freshness as during my first participations, with the desire to do well. I know them a little better, these classics, and today, I apprehend them in a slightly different way. Afterwards, from the moment I take the start of the Tour of Flanders with a lot of ambition, there is a little pressure, of course.
You took part in the “E3 Grand Prix” last week, then in “Through Flanders” on Wednesday, two important races, two races too, in preparation for this Tour of Flanders. Did you feel a different look from your opponents, did youdo you feel a little more guarded?
Yes, since my podium here, at the Tour of Flanders and the Tour de France which followed (note: he finished 10th in the general classification, while playing the luxury team-mate for David Gaudu), I feel that the gaze of the other riders about me has changed. I’m not considered a big favorite, but I’m expected, I’ll be watched. I will have opportunities, but a little less freedom, so we will have to play tactically, not do anything, run just to be able to win this race.I think I’m better than last year, physically and mentally. JI feel much more ready and can’t wait to be there.
There’s you and other outsiders, like Mads Pedersen, Matej Mohoric or the Eritrean Biniam Girmay. There are above all three big favourites, three cycling phenomena: Pogačar, Van Aert and Van der Poel. To start with them, to give everything, to look them in the eye during the race, is it rewarding or depressing? We must still tell ourselves that with the pedal, the chances are limited…
They are well reduced, that’s for sure! The races are also harder physically with these three, but we go there all the same with the ambition to beat them. We have already beaten them, recently. I finished ahead of Van der Poel in the “Strade Bianche” at the start of the year (note: he finished 2nd in this Italian classic), I finished ahead of Pogaçar last year in the Tour of Flanders and Van Aert seems a little less physically strong than the other two at the moment. We don’t really know what form they will be in on Sunday, but there will be opportunities and we have the right to think about winning this race, it’s not taboo at all.