Despite a half-hour of pain, David Gaudu experienced a day he will remember for a long time. On Wednesday, at the Vuelta a España, the French climber had the chance to defend the leader’s red jersey alongside his teammates, during a 24-km team time trial around Figueres. The unity and strength of the Groupama-FDJ cycling team riders weren’t enough to retain the jersey, despite a decent ninth place, 24 seconds behind the winning team. However, the Breton rider remains in sixth place overall ahead of the first “proper” mountain stage on Thursday.
After three days in Italy and a stage finish in France, the Vuelta a España finally reached Spanish territory on Wednesday. It did so with David Gaudu leading the general classification! Thanks to the red jersey conquered the day before in Voiron, Groupama-FDJ was therefore set to be the last team to tackle the team time trial, which served as the fifth stage. Twenty-four kilometres were on the riders’ menu around Figueres, in Catalonia, with some long straight roads, but also some technical sections. “We analysed the course several months ago,” said Maxime Latourte, one of the team’s coaches. “We also had a technical work session during the training camp in Tignes, where we tried to work on a similar course. Stefan wasn’t there, but the other six were. Last Thursday, in Turin, we tried to find a similar course as well, and put the team strategy in place.” A proper recon was also conducted on Wednesday, a few hours before the scheduled departure set at 6:05 p.m. “Starting last and seeing the red jersey in front of you during the team time trial is something that stands out,” said Frédéric Guesdon. “It wasn’t like usual.”
“It was just pleasure,” David Gaudu
David Gaudu and his teammates, however, didn’t seem to suffer any pressure during the first few kilometres. They reached the first intermediate point, after 7.5 kilometres, in fifth place, just six seconds behind the fastest time. The second part of the course proved harder for the French squad, which was then 27 seconds behind. In the final portion, they still limited their losses, as Stefan Küng, Rémi Cavagna, Thibaud Gruel, and David Gaudu crossed the line with a time of 25’51, giving them ninth place on the day, 24 seconds behind UAE Team Emirates. “With the team we have, I think we’re more or less where we belong,” said Maxime. “There were a few technical errors, we probably lost a second or two here and there, but we couldn’t have done much better than eighth place. It wasn’t perfect, but it was still decent.” “The result is pretty good,” added Frédéric. “It’s important to remember that we started with seven riders, and that we didn’t only have time trial specialists. We’re happy with our performance.” Rémi Cavagna agreed: “We didn’t want to disappoint, and it was important to honour this red jersey, even if we knew it would be difficult to keep it against Visma-Lease a Bike.”
Sixteen seconds faster than Groupama-FDJ, Jonas Vingegaard’s team allowed the Dane to reclaim the leader’s jersey on Wednesday. Yet, nothing could remove the big smile on David Gaudu’s face at the finish. “We’re losing the jersey, but it was just pleasure,” said David. “The official ceremony, the fitting yesterday, putting on the jersey this morning… It all only lasted 24 hours, but it’s one of the best moments of my career. I’ve had a few victories but wearing a leader’s jersey in a Grand Tour is another feeling. I’m proud of that. Everyone gave it their all today. I had three great rouleurs with me at the end, but we mustn’t forget all those who were there before and who were able to bring the team forward, whether from the start of the Vuelta, or up until the last 4-5 kilometres today. I believe we experienced something that very few teams will get to live through on this Vuelta.” David Gaudu also didn’t lose everything on Wednesday, as he now sits in sixth place overall, sixteen seconds behind Vingegaard, while the first proper test in the mountains is expected in Andorra on Thursday. “I’m enjoying it while it’s working,” said David. “I’ll have fun until the end, and we’ll see where it takes us.” “It’s a very nice stage tomorrow,” added Frédéric. “Many riders know the climbs because we’ve already ridden them in the past. We hope we can continue our good run, but we’re confident!”
