David Gaudu aims towards Tour de France podium: "This route suits me and makes me dream"

David Gaudu has talked at the Groupama-FDJ presentation this Friday and has revealed that in 2023 he will have a clear main goal and that will be of returning to the Tour de France and fighting for the podium.

"In 2023, my main objective will be the Tour de France. It's a race in which I have already participated five times, which has been very successful for me and which has given me a lot of emotions on the bike since the start of my career, especially this year," Gaudu said in a press release. This year with the French team built around him, the 26-year old reached Paris in fourth place after finally proving his consistency in a Grand Tour, and thriving in the mountains stages.

"We have managed, with great team work, to conquer fourth place in the 2022 edition, but we continue to aim always higher: the podium," he said. The Frenchman is likely to combine that with a tilt at the Ardennes classics and spring stage-races, and the late-season hilly and mountainous classics. Gaudu will follow a traditional format which has worked this year.

"The 2023 route contains a bumpy time trial and lots of mountain stages, for one of the most mountainous Tours I've seen. This route suits me and makes me dream," he concluded. The pure climbers will be licking their lips at the Grand Boucle next year, and Gaudu will dream of the yellow jersey for the coming months.