After a turbulent season where he fought just as much against teammate Arnaud Demare as he did against his rivals, Nacer Bouhanni has left FDJ to join Cofidis. The Frenchman criticizes former manager Marc Madiot who didn't bring much clarity to his race schedule.

At Cofidis, Nacer Bouhanni has found what he wanted for the next three years. It was during the Giro d'Italia - where he won three stages and won the red points jersey - that he decided to join the French team by accepting their offer.

"[Cofidis manager] Yvon Sanquer's proposal convinced me from the beginning because they have the desire to build something new at Cofidis," he told Tuttobiciweb in an interview. "I also had offers from Omega Pharma-Quick Step, the new Cannondale team and Ag2r but I chose Cofidis for the project. Not for the money because I had lots of similar offers. I chose the philosophy. But don't believe anyone who claims that money does not matter because they are lying."

Bouhanni will earn a lot of money (reportedly between 1 and 1.5 million Euros per season) and will become the best paid French rider at the moment. Bouhanni did everything himself after having ended his relationship with his agent Paul de Geyter.

"Next year my dad Karim and my coach Jacques Decrion that will follow me from FDJ to Cofidis are the people that I trust. You don't need the rest."

Bouhanni has learned how to act on his own in the boxing ring.

"The ring is a school of life although many do not know it. Take what happened in the Vuelta: after a fistfight in the race between Brambilla and Rovny, Oleg Tinkov tweeted, telling Brambilla to challenge me next time instead of his rider. I would never do so, God forbid it, but Tinkov should also remember that the boxer is a true sportsman and that respect for the opponent is the first thing that he is taught. Everyone would learn that if they just entered the gym to do boxing once. Boxing also taught me how to handle myself in the best way and that is important in sprints. In boxing, you study the opponent to find his weak point and that is where you are going to hit him at the right moment. The same happen in sprints where you have the right time to launch your effort."

With the same determination, Bouhanni also addressed Marc Madiot, the FDJ.fr manager .

"I told him directly about all thought as it is normal for me to do. I was a frank and hard. When I told L'Equipe Magazine that I fought with a gun against some who had a bazooka, I intended to criticize the lack of clarity from Marc. This year he planned to send me to Sanremo and then he did not select me. Last year he told Geoffrey Soupe that he would not do the Tour only three days before the start and I knew that I needed a rider like him. Just tell me how things are. If he doesn't want me to do Sanremo, he should tell me and I would focus on something else. What is wrong with that?"

The fact that he missed out on selection for the Tour de France did not play a massive role in his decision to leave the team.

"During the Tour, I knew in my head that I would not do the Tour and that's why I focused on winning the red jersey. But even in this case, Marc was wrong. If he had told me at the beginning of the season that I would not do the Tour, I would have handled the season differently."

Bouhanni also reflected on how he picked up cycling.

"I was seven years old and in the first race I did I found myself ahead of a certain Thibaut Pinot. Since then I have always raced to win. It is something that I feel a strong desire to do. When I put the number on the jersey, I do it to win and in the race I only have one goal. I know what I did to get where I am and what I have to do to keep winning and to improve. With Cofidis, for example, I started to work in the wind tunnel: I already have a good aerodynamic position but I can do better. And it is right to do that.

"I do not feel any stress. I feel it much more when my brother Yrayane (French junior champion, ed.) competes. And then I have my personal stress, called Geoffroy Soupe. We met at a French youth championship. I finished fourth and the team officials in the Vosges team that I rode for, said that my behavior too individualistic. Geoffroy was the only one to come to console me, and since then we have been friends, roommates and training partners. Without rules, because we can be apart for three weeks without feeling but we are real accomplices. He and Jacques (Decrion, ed.) were the only elements that I required to bring along when signing the contract with Cofidis."

Bouhanni already has a good idea about his sprint train for next season.

"In my head I think Dominique Rollin will be the first man, then Jonas Ahlstrand who comes from Giant Shimano, then Adrien Petit and finally Geoffroy Soupe. But this is my idea. We will talk about it at the first training camp. We need to ride together to make things smoother but above all it is important that everyone feels at ease in the role he plays. And like in the boxing ridng: each of us must be ready to confront the enemy and place the right shot at the right time. Simple, right?"