"In France, a lot of people are ready to tear you down" - David Gaudu's 'disaster' season made more difficult over home crowd
Cycling
Whilst athletes from less historical nations don't benefit from as many opportunities in the world of cycling, they benefit from having less pressure. In countries like Belgium or France, all the main riders and the young jewels are looked at through a microscope, and fall victim to lots of criticism when things don't go well. David Gaudu has experienced this time and time again, and says a lot of people are constantly waiting to teat him down.
“It was the hardest season of my career, a real ordeal. It started well in Oman, but then one disaster struck after another, to the point where I thought there was no point in going to the Tour de France in that condition," Gaudu said in an interview with L'Équipe. The Frenchman suffered a hand fracture at Tirreno-Adriatico, and then simply did not have the form at the Giro d'Italia, where he was completely absent from the action.
He moved away from his original plan of racing the Giro-Tour double, and took time off. He returned to competition with a promising second place in the Tour de l'Ain's opening stage, but then had no legs in the mountains. He took to the start of the Vuelta a España, finishing third to Jonas Vingegaard and Giulio Ciccone on stage 2, and then beating the Dane and Mads Pedersen in a thrilling uphill sprint in Ceres.
It was a very impressive victory, but as soon as the race entered the mountains, the Frenchman disappeared once again. “We started preparing for the Vuelta. I had those three incredible days at the start, and then it was hell. I wondered what was happening, how it was possible to go from such highs to such lows," he recalls. "The team struggled to understand, and I struggled to trust them.”
Attacked by his compatriots
He finished the race without any other meaningful result, and ultimately the same can be said of his season. The French have not won the Tour de France in 40 years now, and are constantly hoping for the next man to come. Gaudu, fourth at the 2022 Tour, gave hopes after a few years of steady rise and being in the shadow of Thibaut Pinot. But his inconsistencies have gotten the best of him over the past few years.
“I want to get back to my best and find the consistency I’ve been searching for since 2021. I know very well that at my level, I’m capable of amazing things. This year will be incredibly important for the team with the UCI points resetting. I know that we finished 17th last year partly because of me... I was a leader, and I didn’t do the job, so I want to reclaim my leadership role and lift the team," he states.
David Gaudu leading the 2025 Vuelta a España after his victory in Ceres
Gaudu was a two-time stage winner at the 2020 Vuelta, and was also second between Tadej Pogacar at the 2023 edition of Paris-Nice, amongst other high-level wins. Still in 2025, as shown by his Vuelta victory, his level is very high, but he struggles to maintain it.
“A washed-up leader would never have won that stage on the Vuelta," he argued. But in the French bubble, he is often criticized for what he doesn't achieve. "They went after me too hard. In France, a lot of people are ready to tear you down when you’re at rock bottom because they were jealous when you were successful.”
This is a pattern many fear seeing with Paul Seixas, who is only 19 years of age but often touted as a future Tour de France winner and potentially the next man to rival Tadej Pogacar - standards that are set incredibly high and are very hard to fulfill.
New coach, new Gaudu?
Gaudu may see new results in 2026 however as he will begin working with a new coach, Luca Festa who joined Groupama - FDJ from Cofidis. It will be an opportunity to train in different ways and perhaps recover the consistency he once had.
“I ride much longer but less fast. I think it’s a good thing. It’s not easy because I've had a very close relationship with David Han (his previous coach, ed.) since I turned pro; he was almost like a second father to me. But we both understood that the team’s decision to change coaches doesn’t change our relationship.”
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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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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