You’d have needed a heart of stone not to be moved by David Gaudu’s (Groupama-FDJ) look of sheer delight as he celebrated his stage win in the Vuelta a España on Sunday, and a much-needed return to top form following a miserable first part of the year.
Ever since he crashed in training this March, the 28-year-old Frenchman has been fighting fires throughout much of 2025. His Giro d’Italia participation left him empty handed, injured and exhausted, and he subsequently missed out on the Tour de France, his big goal of the season, with poor form.
“It’s been a very difficult year,” Gaudu recognised afterwards. “I haven’t won in the WorldTour in a long time. The last time was in the 2022 Dauphiné, when I beat [Wout] Van Aert in the sprint, and now I’ve done it against Pedersen. I’m feeling a lot of emotions.”
However, while lamenting the loss of his teammate, Gaudu was already feeling very motivated after his third place in Limone – “things are moving again,” he told L’Équipe afterwards. The confirmation then came through just 24 hours later.
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