Michael Storer considers Tudor a step up from being “an afterthought” at FDJ
Michael Storer has revealed on the Domestique Hotseat podcast that his move to Tudor Pro Cycling in 2024 provided him with significantly better support than at Groupama-FDJ, where he felt resources were concentrated on just a few select riders rather than giving every rider an equal opportunity.
The 28-year-old climber from Perth, western Australian, who has picked up some notable results in the Tudor Pro Cycling colours, including a WorldTour stage win at Paris-Nice, expressed frustration with the support structure over at the French team, Groupama-FDJ. "You have to look into it to realise that it's actually a step up because Groupama[FDJ] doesn't have the best support structure," Storer said. "They're sort of stuck in their ways. That's not going to change. Even if I say it in a podcast, they're not going to listen."
Storer then explained that his decision to join Tudor was driven by a personal desire for better career development and team support, something of which, was evidently lacking at Groupama-FDJ.
"I wanted to go to a team that actually cared about making me good, actually give me some real support," Storer stated. "Cause like they'll say that they're going to help you and whatnot, but then they kind of just expect you to be good, but not actually do anything to help you be a good cyclist."
The 28-year-old highlighted his newfound, elevated status within the Tudor team hierarchy as a key advantage of his move in 2024, contrasting it with his previous position where he felt that not everyone was given an opportunity to achieve.
"In Tudor like, I'm pretty much their main guy. And so they're throwing a lot of resources behind me to help me reach my potential," Storer explained. "Whilst if I went to one of those teams like Groupama [FDJ] , they supported like two guys with their resources, I'd say maybe three."
He added that this is a common issue with larger teams: "That can be the problem with the big teams. You go there and you're definitely probably not going to be their number one guy who they throw their resources behind. You're going to maybe be number three, number four. You're like an afterthought."
Storer continues to flourish at Tudor Pro Cycling, becoming almost infamous for having an engine for the breakaway, with an impressive Tour de France behind him and being quite unlucky not to achieve more than a third place on a stage, Storer can find confidence that he can add to his 2 grand tour stages in the very near future.
Catch the full Hotseat conversation with Michael Storer, only on Domestique.
