"I hate him. He spat on me on his stupid live streams" - David Gaudu under attack from former teammate

26-year old Alexys Brunel is a rider with a very interesting rider. He retired from pro cycling in mid 2022 whilst riding for the UAE team, raced gravel for a few years and made a comeback now with TotalEnergies - where he already took a strong win at the GP Jean-Pierre Monseré. He has taken the opportunity in the spotlight to bring up a past dispute with a former teammate and leader: David Gaudu.

Brunel was part of Groupama - FDJ's development team and then turned pro in 2020, spending two seasons with the team before leaving at the end of 2021. The duo were teammates during those two seasons and certainly Gaudu - already then a proven winner - did not leave a good impression.

Seemingly however, it was during David Gaudu's Twitch livestreams that the situation truly spilled over due to Gaudu's comments on Brunel's passion for paddle and his lateness, according to L'Équipe. "I hate him. He spat on me on his stupid live streams. A horrible guy. He thinks he's a champion, but he's not," Brunel told the French news outlet.

"Those who have a problem with me should buy themselves some cojones. I may be breaking the rules of cycling, but if you crash, you're not yourself. You don't respect me? Me neither". Brunel is now back in the peloton and part of a French team, so racing with Gaudu in the same peloton seems inevitable. It is unusual for there to be a spat with such clear words. It is evident that Gaudu has truly angered one of his former domestiques.

"He may have won races, but that doesn't make him great. Nothing to do with Thibaut Pinot, an idol;" the Frenchman praises his other former leader. "When Thibaut was in my wheel, I gave 1,000%, I could have fallen to the groud".