"In France, a lot of people are ready to tear you down" - David Gaudu's 'disaster' season made more difficult over home crowd

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.”

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.

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.

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.”