David Gaudu: Surprise win "was an explosion of joy"

After a few complicated months, David Gaudu today has shown once again his best level at the Critérium du Dauphiné as he sprinted to the win on stage three beating Wout van Aert in a surprising manner in the very last meters of the stage.

The Frenchman had been ill during Paris-Nice and injuries took him out of the spring classics campaign that he had been targeting. He had a win to his name as the Volta ao Algarve earlier in the year, and returned to competition at the Mercan'Tour Classic where he finished third. His form is heading in the right direction for the Tour de France, as he showed tremendous power today in Sancy as he was the fastest at the line from the GC group after Jumbo-Visma controlled the climb.

“When the sprint started, I was a bit too far behind. I thought to myself, this isn't going to work. With 500 meters to go, I saw Kevin [Geniets] coming back and I grabbed his wheel. When it really started I was a bit boxed in, but I felt I had strength and went for it," he described. "I came back to Wout in the slipstream, and I thought: I'm going to get him, I'm going to get him. That's what I did!”

Hence Gaudu took his second win of the season. It was a hard one to get, but well earned. “After all the trouble I had this spring, it feels so good. After rain comes sunshine,” the 25-year old added. “It was an explosion of joy. It feels good, everything is behind me now. There are no words for it. I am moved because I have been looking for such a win since the beginning of the year.”

Tomorrow will be a day where he'll look to limit his losses, however next weekend he'll have the mountains where he will be able to play his cards once again and fight for a high overall classification - besides being able to hunt for another win. "The team worked well all day, so thank you for that. It's very promising for the future, the legs seemed to respond well. Now we are looking forward to a nice weekend. But before that, there will be a long individual time trial tomorrow where I can test myself," he concluded.