31/08/2024

Resurgence of David Gaudu who "rode like a boss" to return to GC top-10 on Puerto de Ancares

David Gaudu was one of the revelations of the very steep finish at the Puerto de Ancares. The Groupama - FDJ rider was among the first riders to be dropped from the frantic pace set by Primoz Roglic's teammates, but as it turned out, the 27-year-old Frenchman knew perfectly what he was doing and eventually caught his 'cooked' opponents one by one.

"I felt good all day and I knew it was going to be a hill climb between the general classification favourites," he shared on team website after the stage. "I was well placed on the last climbs by Sven (Bystrom) and Quentin (Pacher), and we managed the approach to the last ascent well too."

Primoz Roglic's teammate stays down-to-earth despite a great display on Puerto de Ancares: "The situation is not perfect until he is in red"

There, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe set a devillish pace that shattered the group of favourites to pieces. Gaudu didn't panic a chose to follow his own pace which eventually paid off. "The foot was mounted extremely quickly, too quickly to be able to continue at this tempo all the way to the top. I then did what I know how to do, namely manage my pace to catch up with the competitors one after the other."

This clever tactic rewarded the French with 21st place on the day, fifth over the lane among GC riders. "On a climb like today's (Friday), it paid off, and I was able to accelerate again as I usually do halfway up, to catch up with Carapaz, then Kuss, Lipowitz and finally the Skjelmose-Rodriguez duo."

"I just tried to hang on as long as possible" - Sepp Kuss hopes to build confidence towards third week after a gutsy ride on Ancares

Gaudu's DS Thierry Bricaud was also beaming with happiness after the stage: "David (Gaudu) handled it like a boss. He still lacks a bit of confidence, but he knows himself very well and he was able to manage his climb as he needed to."

Arriving to the finish 44 seconds behind Primoz Roglic was enough to see the Groupama - FDJ rider move up to the overall top-10, passing Adam Yates and George Bennett to take 9th spot in the GC, 4:44 behind Ben O'Connor and 3:23 behind Roglic. Gaudu will have plenty opportunities to move up the rankings if he performs like today as there are three more riders within half a minute reach of the French climber.