David Gaudu not letting poor start to the Criterium du Dauphiné quash his Tour de France hopes: "We have to analyze what happened and understand the reason why it happened"

David Gaudu started his season a pedal stroke or two quicker than Jonas Vingegaard at Paris-Nice, but since then he hasn't found his best form and in the early stages of the Criterium du Dauphiné illness has played a role.

"It was complicated, it was a difficult day, it was very fast and I was not as strong as the rivals on the final climb, so we have to analyze what happened and understand the reason why it happened," the Groupama - FDJ leader laments. "We continue with the objective of working for the Tour de France in any case."

He was asked before the start of the sixth stage if there were reasons to be nervous in the face of the Tour de France, something he denied, alluding that there is still a long way to go before the Grand Départ of Bilbao.

"You don't have to get nervous, it's true that the Tour de France comes very quickly, but the important thing is to get in shape at the start, you can't be scared, what you have to do is work," Gaudu explains. "You have to keep working for the Tour de France. The previous work has been perfect, from now on it is the sensations that will determine the results."