"Frankly, I don’t know where I could have gained more time" - David Gaudu reflects on breakthrough Tour de France performance
Cycling
David Gaudu has in the past hinted towards becoming the next French Grand Tour contender, and at this Tour de France he's shown the climbing prowess and the consistency that he was yet to show in the past, on his way to an impressive fourth place in a remarkably hard Tour.
At the end of stage 18, he ascended to fourth place in the overall classification. “My fight today wasn’t with Pogačar, Vingegaard or Thomas. It was Nairo and the others," he explained. "The hardest thing was dropping Nairo and I just had to give everything. You have days where things go very well, and today was like that".
After surviving the treacherous first week and the cobbled stages, the soaring heat, the back-to-back mountain stages, altitude and colossal mountain raid on two occasions, Gaudu found himself close to the podium. With the support of the likes of Stefan Küng, Valentin Madouas, Michael Storer and Thibaut Pinot, the 25-year old never seemed isolated throughout the race, and had the legs to complete a strong collective performance throughout the three weeks.
“Frankly, I don’t know where I could have gained more time... I think I’d have taken fourth place at the start of the Tour. Some people say fourth, fifth or sixth here doesn’t mean so much, but I think they don’t realize the effort, the intensity and the high level that you must have," he argued.
The Tour is not yet over, but his 2:30-minute gap to Nairo Quintana should be sufficient to hold on to his fourth place, a performance that consolidates him as a podium contender for future Grand Tours.
“I’m proud to currently be fourth. There’s still tomorrow and the time trial. Two more days to stay focused because anything can still happen," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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