"I know riders who had less talent than him and who won the Tour de France" - Cyrille Guimard confident David Gaudu has a big future

After a breakthrough performance at Paris-Nice where David Gaudu rode to second on the general classification, ahead of the reigning Tour de France winner, Jonas Vingegaard, Cyrille Guimard isn't ruling out his compatriot ending the long French wait for a home yellow jersey.

"He did not become the leader of his team on Paris-Nice, but the day he made certain public statements," Guimard tells Cyclism'Actu. " He made everyone happy, and I'll be clear: in Paris-Nice, Gaudu became the French number 1. Maybe he could have become one earlier, but we don't rewrite history. What we will remember is that he took on the role of captain and that he became the leader of French cycling and his team."

The big question on everyone's minds in France however will be can Gaudu succeed where the likes of Romain Bardet and teammate Thibaut Pinot have not and end the long wait for a French winner of the Yellow Jersey? "Objectively no, but I know riders who had less talent than him and who won the Tour de France."

"When you see the domination of a Pogacar today... A Pogacar who questioned himself after the Tour last year and who understood that he had made a certain number of errors," Guimard debates. "It validates the work that has been done in recent years by professional teams to develop the qualities of French cyclists. In the context of development and workloads, French teams have moved closer to foreign teams."