David Gaudu est 9e du classement général après cette 15e étape. Il boucle la deuxième semaine sur une note encourageante avant la dernière ligne droite de ce Tour de France.
"Some riders can go out and take time, I get jumped directly" - David Gaudu rues lack of freedom to join breakaways
CyclingMonday, 17 July 2023 at 12:30
The Tour de France has been brutal since day one. David Gaudu has suffered through and had ups and downs, but remains in the Top10 despite a few tough moments. He'd like to join breakaways but rues the coverage he gets when he tries - unlike riders like Pello Bilbao, Thibaut Pinot and Guillaume Martin for example.
"You have to stay focused because there are still stages to come. Normally, the third week is better for me than the first two, I hope that will be the case this year too," Gaudu, now 9th, 14:07 minutes down on Jonas Vingegaard, said after stage 15. "Anyway, we will still have to be very strong in the head. It's complicated for me to slip into a breakaway. I tried in the last two stages, and I always had people on the luggage rack. Some riders can go out and take time, I get jumped directly above."
Low in the Top10, Groupama is unlikely to work towards a lower spot in the GC, but Gaudu finds himself battling with riders who stand just outside the Top10 who are allowed and gain time with successful breakaways, which frutrates the Frenchman who finished fourth last year. Today he struggled early on at the Col de la Croix Fry, however later in the day he felt much better and was able to withstand the pace of the GC group deep into the final climb.
"Yes, even if the start of the stage was not the easiest for me. But it's at the end that we do the accounts, and that's good for me. It feels good to to have these riders behind me in the end," he thanks. "I said that I was not going to let go and I proved it because I was almost left behind very far from the finish."
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