"The hand is badly damaged. You can see the tendon" - David Gaudu's GC ambition takes a heavy blow
Cycling
The Giro d'Italia peloton wasn't spared of crashes also on the seventh stage with first mountain finish on Tagliacozzo. While Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe had an awful day on Thursday, the French fans must've shedded a tear on Friday. Both their biggest stars in Italy; Romain Bardet and David Gaudu crashed and it's clear it wasn't a soft landing.
The Groupama - FDJ rider tried to go with the best on the final climb, but ultimately it was just a 25th place for Gaudu, 51 seconds down on winner Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates - XRG). The Frenchman was visibly in discomfort with a heavily bandaged right hand.
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"The hand is badly damaged. You can see the tendon, it's not great," he told Eurosport visibly shook in brief response afterwards.
"It sucks... I don't know what to say. I don't really know what happened. A rider swerved in front of me, I touched his wheel and I fell. I was focused all day. Pffff. I have no excuses."

Tomorrow will bring another tough test for Gaudu with a challenging Maddalena (13.1 km at 7.3%) climb in the middle and several shorter climbs in the final phase. But for Gaudu, it's gonna be more of a matter of surviving until the second rest day, hopefully overcoming the pain. If his hand heals up well, there'll be plenty of chances awaiting in third week for the 28-year-old.
Results of stage 7 of Giro d'Italia:
| Position | Rider | Team | Time |
| 01 | Ayuso Juan | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | 04:20:25 |
| 02 | del Toro Isaac | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | + 04 |
| 03 | Bernal Egan | INEOS-Grenadiere | + 04 |
| 04 | Roglic Primoz | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | + 04 |
| 05 | Ciccone Giulio | Lidl-Trek | + 04 |
| 06 | Tiberi Antonio | Bahrain - Siegreich | + 04 |
| 07 | Caruso Damiano | Bahrain - Siegreich | + 04 |
| 08 | Carapaz Richard | EF Bildung-EasyPost | + 04 |
| 09 | Poole Max | Mannschaftspicknick PostNL | + 08 |
| 10 | Storer Michael | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | + 08 |
| 25 | Gaudu David | Groupama - FDJ | + 51 |
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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