In June, just a few weeks after he did very little at the Giro d’Italia, David Gaudu ruled himself out of the Tour de France, citing poor form. “Given my current level… I’ve been transparent with the team. In any case, they have my values and my data, so we decided to skip the Tour this year,” he sighed.
He was fresh from signing a new two-year contract with Groupama-FDJ – “my last two years as a team leader, quite simply,” he said – but the 28-year-old’s mood was despondent. He was frustrated, discouraged. Fourth at the Tour de France in 2022 – “it will perhaps remain my best performance,” he said not long ago – seemed a long way away. Where had those legs disappeared to?
Gaudu beating Pedersen to the line (Image: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Arriving at the Vuelta a España, he did so without any expectations. But with a lot of hope. Desperate hope that he could turn around a season that actually began well, beating Adam Yates in the mountains of Oman. After three days, he and his team have the answer they were praying for but were deeply unsure would come: David Gaudu has found his form again.
Third on stage two behind winner Jonas Vingegaard and Giulio Ciccone – and impressively ahead of João Almeida and Juan Ayuso – Gaudu went two spots better on stage three, taking the win in an uphill sprint against Vingegaard and his fellow Dane Mads Pedersen. These finishes are tailor-made for Pedersen – in the past few years, regardless of the Grand Tour, he does not lose them. But Gaudu positioned himself expertly, attacking on the inside of the final climb and holding off Pedersen and Vingegaard.
If spectators were surprised, after so long without seeing Gaudu at the front of a bike race, the bespectacled Frenchman was just as shocked. His celebration was one of disbelief and relief. As the race leaves Italy after its three-day sojourn, and crosses into Gaudu’s France before eventually landing on home turf in Spain, Gaudu is second on GC, level on time with Vingegaard. Finish nine places higher than the Visma-Lease a Bike rider on stage four and he’ll be in red. Never before has he led a Grand Tour. What a prize is on offer for him. “This is the best beginning of the Vuelta,” he smiled. It could get a lot better.
The question now is: what can Gaudu do in the rest of the Vuelta? In May, he spoke candidly about his career trajectory: “It’s going to be difficult to get a Grand Tour podium finish, even if that remains my objective,” he said. He’s almost certainly right when it comes to the Tour, or if he performs like he did at this year’s Giro, but an on-form Gaudu has all the capabilities to mount a serious podium challenge in this year’s Vuelta. Especially when, with the exception of Vingegaard, there are no near certainties to land a top-three finish. Why can’t a reenergised, refreshed and rebooted Gaudu be a key protagonist for the whole duration of the race? In 24 hours time he could be the race leader.
