It's been 18 years since a Frenchman won a professional stage race. belonging to the WorldTour, the last one was Christophe Moreau in 2007 at the Dauphiné. If we then look at a Grand Tour, the abstinence has lasted for thirty years, with Laurent Jalabert to the Vuelta 1995. As for the Giro, we have to go back to 1989 and the late Laurent fignonHe hopes to put an end to all this. david gaudi, at the start of Tour of Italy, but the premises are certainly not the best.
At the beginning of the season the leader of the Groupama-FDJ he was quite confident about his chances in the Giro d'Italia: «They always spoke well of the Giro – he had said to Eurosport – when you are the leader of a French team, everyone is waiting for you at the Tour. Pinot e Bardet they built a reputation at the Grande Boucle before attempting the Giro, I do a bit of the same thing and I can't wait to try it.».
A dramatic start to the season
That was at the beginning of the season, but then things didn't go so well: he crashed early in the season because a stray dog crossed his path. He didn't even have time to recover before he crashed again at the Strade Bianche. then the worst, at the Tirreno-Adriatico which forced him to have an operation on his hand and a seven-week stopIt's clear that the situation can't be as hoped, even if David wants to try, also to respond with facts to those who criticize him as another of the many unfulfilled French promises.
Gaudu arrives at the Giro after having done his dress rehearsal in Romandie. Course without any major previous tests, effectively starting from scratch. DirectVelo he followed him step by step, to check his physical and moral growth always with the Giro d'Italia in the background. Because let's face it: it doesn't often happen that a major stage race arrives without one of the "three tenors" at the start, Pogacar, Vingegaard, Evenepoel, who already overwhelm everyone else in terms of media attention and then impose their rule on the race. There are several contenders for victory at the Giro, and the Frenchman would like to be among them.
The difficulty of the first outings
The beginnings in Switzerland hadn't been easy, because the twenty-eight-year-old from Landivisiau knew he wasn't fully prepared. On the contrary: "It's the ideal race to prepare for the Giro," he said, "but I have to approach it without taking risks, thinking only about accumulating kilometers, effort, and condition. I have to find my race rhythm again, see how my legs respond, the result doesn't matter».
The first stages saw him always running at the back: «The level is always higher, it evolves every year and if you're not more than ready, you pay the consequences. I had also started the season well, at the Tour of Oman I had won a stage, finished on the podium in the general classification, there were all the signs of a good spring, but I realise, racing now in a WorldTour race, that compared to then I would have had to go much faster, to achieve something".
The path to rebirth
Eighty-fifth in the first stage, then always around fortieth position, each stage ended with the gaze of his teammates and managers with that questioning look: «I can't make up for lost time, I'm starting from a much lower base than everyone else. I can only hope to grow towards the Albanian departure."
Meanwhile Gaudu retraced the path he had taken from the lowest point: «After the operation I had 6 days without pedaling and then two weeks on the rollersI went out on the road for a week to gradually accumulate hours, then I started getting serious, and that was the part I enjoyed the most: a week at home and a week in Tenerife, but without going to high altitude. Another week at home and then bags packed for Romandie. It's impossible to think that this will be enough..."
On the way up we saw glimpses of the real Gaudu
A situation that is not easy to manage, even psychologically: «The condition is not the worst, I see some improvement every day, but I can't think of being at the same level as the othersI only have the awareness that I did everything I could, then the road will tell if it was enough."
Then came the most important day, the ultimate test with the Thyon 2000 stage and at the end of the stage Gaudu, who finished 32nd at 6'26” from the winner. lenny martinez she was almost as happy as him: «I feel reassured because I did better than I thought. I started with bad feelings, I ran in defense in the first three stages, but here I rediscovered the pleasure of pedaling and fighting, without ever getting into difficulty and it wasn't a given."
Time trial, technical tests of the Giro
Then the final time trial, interpreted without looking at the stopwatch: «It wasn't important at all, I was looking at other things, the sensations after a tiring day, thinking above all about taking care of the position on the bikeIn the end I finished 30th in the standings and I can assure you that given how I was at the beginning, given what I had been through in the previous weeks, it was absolutely not a given."
But that was the past, now the moment of the Albanian go-ahead is upon us: «I have to look at things objectively: I can't hold the shots, I'm having troubleI trust in the structure of the Giro where the first week is quite calm, There are only two difficult stages where I will have to limit the damage, then we will take stockThe Giro is really special this year and I'm really hoping for the rest day after the three days in Albania to recover."
Milestones as a goal, but will it be enough?
So, what are our plans for the start? "We'll start by looking at the stage victories, as we did—and constructively—at the last Vuelta, then we'll see how the overall standings pan out. I have a good team, I have a great feeling with everyone, then there is Enzo Paleni who is a true master in everything despite his 22 years.I'm leaving with a relieved heart because I'm in one piece. I finished the Romandie without falling and having fun. For now, that's already something. Let's see what we can build...
