David Gaudu tries to overlook dispute with Arnaud Démare: "We may never become best friends, but we will have to see if we can work together"

The heat is dissipating within Groupama - FDJ, but the presence of an internal clash between David Gaudu and Arnaud Démare risks big losses. It is a drama that the team is working through, with Gaudu himself talking openly about the situation.

"Everything has calmed down. The team has done its job and now everything remains internal. What happened happened. We cannot erase the past. Perhaps this has made it possible to improve things," Gaudu said in conversation with La Télégramme. "We are already going to ride together in Paris-Nice. He will aim for a podium finish in the sprints and I aim for the general classification. We have to live together. We may never become best friends, but we will have to see if we can work together in the course."

"The war is not over. We are on a crusade. The advantage is that we don’t talk to each other, and we hardly ride together," Gaudu said in messages leaked over the Discord app where he is quite open with fans and the Pro Cycling Manager game community. "If he wants me to tell him to his face, I can very well. I’m not afraid of him. He knows that I don’t want him at the Tour, I already told him”,

Team manager Marc Madiot commented on the case at the time, stating that "Gaudu's comments were childish, but I'm confident it won't cause any further problems." Now, the French team look to get past the clear dispute between two of it's leaders, who will share leadership duties at none other than the Tour de France later this summer. 

At the time social media had a bad outlook on Gaudu. Although the existence of rivalries within teams is not unheard of, having one shared in public and in such an informal setting is quite rare.

"Don't know. The public will decide," Gaudu commented on if he believes his public image has improved. "Maybe I have to try really hard in the Tour de France to fix my image. In the days following my statements, I deleted Twitter and blocked posts on Instagram. Other than that I did my job: cycling. The team does not restrict me on social media. That all stays with me."

Gaudu started his season today at the Tour des Alpes Maritimes, where he is one of the favourites for GC. He's been training at Mount Teide in altitude over the last few weeks, as he prepares for the stage-races throughout the spring.

“I am very happy to be able to start again in the Tour of the Alps this Friday. It's a beautiful course. I want to see the performance of my internships. In any case, it has nothing to do with my work. I'm here to play out the general classification, but the whole season I want to show the top of the top. That would mean showing my 2021 regularity and my 2022 Tour form. I want to be strong in all races," he concluded.